Learning to Have Fun
by Exclusive Amanuensis
Summary: Ino tells Sakura she doesn't know how to flirt and have fun. Sakura sets out to prove her wrong, and Shikamaru ends up her unsuspecting victim.
1. Flirting

**1. Flirting**

Disclaimer: I love me some Naruto characters. But I own none.

* * *

There were many things in life that Sakura excelled at. Chakra control. Healing. Studying. Genjutsu.

Controlling her temper was not one of them. But she was getting better. She practiced. Being on the same team as Naruto and Sai gave her very frequent opportunities to practice.

But a girl had to vent every once in a while. So, she didn't feel _too_ badly when she whacked Naruto upside his head a little harder than usual. No one called her "butch" and got away with it. She didn't care if he meant it as a compliment to her strength or not.

"Sakura-chaaaan..." He rubbed his head, wincing. "You're only proving my point here, ya know?"

This time, she wouldn't be surprised if a few of his teeth hit the back of his skull.

"I'm your teammate," he moaned from his prone position on the ground. "You're supposed to love me. And help me. And, you know...not put me in traction."

She didn't bat an eye. "Yeah, well, think before you open your mouth next time." She leaned over to pick up her pack from against the tree where it laid during their practice. "Better yet, just don't open your mouth at all."

As she walked from the training grounds where she and Naruto had been sparring, she tilted her head back to catch the last of the warm, soothing rays of the setting sun on her face.

She heard Naruto catching up from behind her. "So Sakura-chan, what are your plans for tonight?"

She raised an eyebrow, regarding his eager expression dubiously. "I don't have any as of yet...why do you ask?"

His grin grew. "I was hoping you'd say that! You're coming out with me, and I won't take 'no' for an answer!"

She cracked her knuckles and closed her eyes, praying for patience. "Naruto, we've been through this..."

"No, no, no..." he chuckled nervously, eyeing her hands lest they should blindside him again. "I didn't mean '_with me_' with me, I just meant...well, with me and a few others. Not a date. Actually..." he trailed off, looking nervous, "Actually, I kind of asked Hinata to go out with me tonight, but I told her it was just a big group thing...you know, so she wouldn't think it was a date or anything."

Sakura smiled at him, excited. "Naruto, you asked her out!? That's great!"

He blushed. "Yeah well, like I said...I tried to. I was going to take her to dinner and everything. But then I remembered how nervous she gets, and how completely oblivious I can be sometimes, and figured one-on-one conversation might not be the best way to go right now. Not until we get a bit more used to eachother anyway."

Sakura felt her eyebrows shoot up. "Wow, Naruto. It actually sounds like you really thought this through. That's a great plan! You have, for once, not been completely socially idiotic."

He chuckled. "Yeah, well, I had some help on that front."

"Oh? From who?"

"Shikamaru."

Sakura was surprised. "Wow. I didn't know he was so knowledgeable about relationships."

Naruto shrugged. "Well, it seemed like a smart idea either way, so..." he looked up at her hopefully. "What do ya say, Sakura-chan? Hinata said she'd invite Kiba, and I made Shikamaru promise that if this all worked he would come too, and I'm sure if you asked Ino she'd show!"

_'Wow, he looks so nervous...And there will be other people there, so I'm sure I'll have people to talk to while he gets to know Hinata.' _She sighed, "Alright. So long as I'm not out _too_ late. Where and when?"

He threw his arms around her excitedly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret this"

"Argh! Naruto, you're covered in sweat! Get off of me!"

He pulled back, still wringing her hand in gratitude. "Tonight at nine we're meeting for drinks at that little bar down the street from the academy."

She knew the place. Ino had been trying to drag her there for months. It was a shinobi joint that had a tendency to get pretty lively in the evenings. Tension ran high for ninjas, and they always needed a safe, relaxing spot to go and unwind. The Oasis had a wide selection of drinks, music in the evenings, and lots of tables for friends to sit and shoot the breeze.

"Sounds good, Naruto. I'm sure Ino will come too, and maybe we can talk to some others as well."

"Great! I'm going to grab dinner. I'm starving!"

"Naruto!" She called after him. "Wear something decent!"

He was already running down the street. "And don't forget to shower!" she yelled at his retreating form. He waved and grinned to let her know he heard her, and she smiled and shook her head, hurrying to her own apartment to clean up.

* * *

"I can't believe you're finally out for an evening!"

Sakura frowned and tugged at her skirt. "And I can't believe I let you talk me into wearing this thing!" She wiggled and pulled the bottom of her blouse down a little further as well, trying to hide any of her midriff that might be showing.

Ino rolled her eyes and swatted her friend's hands away. "Stop fidgeting! You look amazing! You worry too much. Relax! Enjoy being a woman for once."

Sakura arched one delicate eyebrow. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come on, Forehead. Half the time you're working in the hospital, and when you're not, you're studying, training, on a mission, or hiding away in your apartment. Live a little, will ya? Stop being such a fuddy-duddy."

Sakura snorted. "'Fuddy-duddy?'"

"You know what I mean. You don't know how to get out and have some fun, or flirt, or anything!"

"I know how to have fun! And...and flirt!" she sputtered, swiping at some hair that had fallen from the messy twist that Ino had styled at the back of her head, pulled back with two ornate sticks.

Ino clicked her tongue at her and reached over to swiftly and expertly tuck the strand in with the rest of her shiny pink locks. "Sure you do, Forehead. Sure you do."

They had been walking together through the cool night air from Sakura's apartment, where Ino had arrived almost two hours earlier to help her "fashion-challenged" friend with her wardrobe, make-up, and hair. Just around the corner from the entrance to the bar, Ino pulled Sakura to a halt beside her to give her the once-over.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, blue eyes traveling from silvery strappy heels clasped around elegant ankles, up smooth shapely legs, to a black skirt that came to mid-thigh, to a light green blouse that hugged Sakura's torso. "Well hell, Sakura...if I was a lesbian, I'd jump you right this second." She grinned cheekily as her best friend scowled at her.

"Ino, I feel ridiculous."

"Please, Sakura...you're just mad that you're not in your typical working gear."

The pink-haired girl frowned and fingered the edge of her blouse again. It was true. Sakura never did feel quite right when she was in any sort of formal attire. She felt useless and out of place. Ino had always been so sure of her looks, she was a natural in anything she wore. But Sakura felt she had always been built more for function than for appearance. Not that she was ugly or anything...she just wasn't the bombshell that Ino was. Sakura supposed that was what made Ino so good at under-cover operations. She was the classic kunoichi - able to use her "womanly" attributes to get whatever she needed. Sakura had no such confidence.

Ino finished reapplying her lipgloss, stuck it back in the little handbag she was carrying and grabbed Sakura's hand. "Let's go. You're going to have some fun if it kills you."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but smiled as her friend pulled her to the door. The muffled music suddenly became clearer as she yanked it open and tugged Sakura in after her.

Once inside, Sakura took deep breaths to calm herself. Ino was right. She didn't get out enough socially. This would be a good learning experience for her. She was going to be with a large group of her friends. These were people she had known since she was a child in academy. She would approach this as she approached any other problem in her life: methodically.

_'Alright. I can do this.'_

She thought back to what Ino had said. _'Flirting. Ino doesn't know what she's talking about. I can flirt! I've flirted loads of times. With...um...' _She was pretty sure decking Naruto and flinging insults back and forth with Sai wouldn't be considered flirting. And if it was, she needed to stop. Immediately.

She shook her head as Ino scanned the crowded building for their friends. _'Who am I kidding? When do I ever get the chance to flirt? Tonight. Tonight I will start. Maybe just with a friend. Yes. I'll practice on someone I know. It will be...educational.' _She nodded firmly. _'I just have to find a good male specimen to flirt with.' __  
_  
"Found them!" She looked to where Ino was suddenly pointing. In the corner nearest the dancing area she saw a table full of what they had all affectionately dubbed "The Rookie Nine" as well as the members of Team Gai. Ino linked arms with Sakura and began making a path in their direction, keeping up a running commentary on the way.

"Ooooh, look at Naruto and Hinata! They look so cute together! And they're both blushing! And Kiba and Shikamaru...can't believe Naruto got that lazy bum to come. He never gets out. I swear, Sakura, he's almost as much of a loser shut-in as you."

Sakura glared at her.

"Oh no...Lee is here. I swear, if he touches one drop of alcohol and ruins our night I'll kick his ass myself. Hmmm...I wonder if that's why Hinata dragged Neji along. He certainly doesn't look happy to be here..."

Closer to the table, her friends spotted them and Naruto yelled out their names in greeting. Hinata waved shyly from her spot next to the blonde, looking lovely in an attractive lavender top and a skirt made of some shimmery silver material. Sakura was pleased to see that Naruto had indeed cleaned up. Ino noticed too, and leaned over to whisper, "If I didn't know he was such a knuckle-head, I might actually find him sexy. He cleans up nice!"

Sakura silently agreed. He kept his tousled blonde locks just a bit longer these days and they fell attractively over his forehead. He was wearing simple khakis and a black shirt left unbuttoned at the top, open just enough to see the pendant Tsunade had given him so long ago laying over his collarbone. The black really let his blue eyes stand out and sparkle, and the cuffs were rolled up enough to see tan muscled forearms. _'Cleans up nice'_ was an understatement. Naruto looked downright gorgeous.

He looked up at her then to find her practically checking him out, and Sakura cleared her throat and grinned. "I see you showered. Good for you."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Just admit that I look amazing, and I'll buy you your first drink."

Kiba tapped his empty beer bottle on the table. "You're hot as hell, Naruto! Now where's my drink?"

Naruto laughed and threw a coaster from the table at the brunette's head. Kiba ducked, and it struck Shikamaru who was somehow dozing despite the noise, his chair tipped back on two legs. The little wooden coaster bounced off his forehead, causing Shikamaru to startle and lose his balance. The occupants at the table winced as he fell backward and slammed into the floor, chair and all.

Most of the males at the table immediately burst into laughter, but Sakura hurried over and looked down at him. Seeing that he was alright, only a little annoyed, she burst into giggles and reached a hand down. "Ever the alert shinobi, Shikamaru. I can see now why you became a chunin before the rest of us!"

He smirked and grabbed her hand, pulling himself to his feet. "I thought I was coming here to relax. I didn't think there would be any enemy attacks in the bar."

"You never know!" After he and his chair were upright, she took the empty seat next to him at the end of the table and looked over to Naruto. "Alright, good-looking...where's my drink?! It's time to have some fun!"

* * *

Two hours later found a very tipsy Sakura holding hands with Kiba in the middle of the table. It was hot. She could feel his hand burning against hers. She winked at the sweating male across from her and took a sip from the drink next to her with her free hand. She wasn't exactly sure whether or not it was actually her drink, but it was wet and within arm's reach. "Come on, Kiba. I thought you were a 'real man.'"

He glared at their linked hands and concentrated harder. Sakura glanced around the table. Hinata, seated between Kiba and Naruto, was grinning at the two of them. Naruto shook his head at Kiba. "Shouldn't mess with Sakura, man. I would know."

On the other side of Kiba sat TenTen, and then Neji. The empty chair beside him on the end had been vacated by Lee, who was currently dancing enthusiastically on the dance floor still, thankfully, sober. Ino was cheering Sakura on from her seat beside Sai. Shikamaru, seated just to Sakura's right, was leaning away from her, trying to give her room as she reached across the table to link hands with Kiba.

"I'm not even trying hard," Sakura teased. "You're not going to get all overcome by a mere female, are you?"

She reached her free hand over and trailed a long, graceful finger down the side of his face and tapped his nose cheekily. "Kiba, darling...I'd love to play with you all night like this but..."

She slammed his hand down on the table, effectively ending their arm-wrestling match and causing the females of the table to break out into cheers, "...I think the ladies would all like their free drinks now. Come on, a bet's a bet! Drinks for me, Hinata, Ino, and TenTen! Get a move on!"

Kiba groaned and banged his forehead against the table, while Shikamaru smirked at him. Sakura saw this and turned to the man next to her. "What? Think you could do better than him?"

"No. I'm not stupid enough to get into an argument with a woman. Men always lose..."

She smiled and sipped her drink. She wasn't sure how many she had consumed throughout the evening, but it was enough to make her feel fuzzy, warm, and very, very adventurous. Their chairs were close enough, that her thigh grazed his when she moved. She could feel the rough material from his tan pants against her bare leg. _'Time to give flirting a shot, I think...' _Shikamaru was definitely a good pick to practice on, too. _'He's smart. Non-threatening. I can trust him not to take me _too_ seriously.' _She grinned. _'And it doesn't hurt that he's hot!' _

She cleared her throat and tried to focus her swimming head on the conversation. "Is that so?"

"That's been my general experience, yes." He tapped his fingers on the table, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh, come on, Shikamaru." She lifted her legs slowly, one at a time, and brought them to rest on his lap, ankles crossed. "You can't expect me to believe that. I thought you were a genius. Surely you know how to..." she wiggled her legs a little in his lap, "_win_...with a girl."

He looked down at the legs draped over his own and shifted uncomfortably while his cheeks grew distinctly pink.

Ino howled with laughter. "Sakura! You _can _flirt! You just have to be drunk first!"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at her friend, who had been slowly plying Sai with drinks throughout the course of the evening to see if there was a personality hiding behind his stoic facade. "I am not drunk."

"Not yet, she's not." Kiba slid her next drink down the table to her.

She smiled and took a long slow drink from the glass in her hand. It was something fruity, but definitely packing a solid punch. Her vision swam just for a moment. Shikamaru looked down at the now half-empty drink in her hand. "I think maybe you should slow down a bit, Sakura."

She held his gaze and deliberately finished the rest of the glass before setting it down loudly in front of him.

"You know Shikamaru," She leaned further toward him, hooking her crossed ankles beneath his solid calves, practically in his lap now. "You have very nice eyes. Like chocolate." She reached her hand over and toyed with the collar of his shirt.

The man usually exuded an air of casualness and non-chalance. He was definitely the most laid-back person she'd ever met. So it was quite humorous to see the distinctly uneasy expression on his face.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Uhh...thanks."

"What's wrong, Shikamaru? You're looking a little..." she wiped a bead of sweat from his temple and flicked it away, "hot and bothered."

His grip on the back of his chair tightened, while his other hand scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He shook his head at her, and gently slid her legs off of his own, setting her feet on the floor.

Still feeling warm, and now even more fuzzy, she leaned against his side, looking over at Naruto asking Hinata if she'd like to dance with him. She smiled sadly as the two made their way to the floor together, both blushing but happy.

"Look how happy they are."

Shikamaru looked at the girl leaning against his side, up at the couple, and back at her again. "Yes, they've liked each other for a long time."

Sakura sighed. "And now they're happy. Together."

"It would seem that way."

She sighed again.

Shikamaru stared at the top of her pink head, shifting uncomfortably, unsure of what to do with the arm she was leaning against, but thankful she had gotten onto a subject that wasn't him. "You don't sound too thrilled about it."

She turned to look up at him and blew out her breath. Shikamaru nearly fell over drunk just from the fumes radiating from her. "Pssssht...don't be ridic...ridiculish."

_'Stupid words...' _she thought, sluggishly. This wasn't where she wanted the conversation to go. She wanted to be flirting, and having fun. Fifteen minutes, and she had somehow spiraled from being flirty but tipsy Sakura, to drunk and depressed Sakura. She tried to stand up to head out to the dance floor and force herself to have a good time, but her legs didn't seem to want to stay beneather her body.

Shikamaru grabbed her elbow and steadied her. "Perhaps it's time you went home."

"I'm fiiiiine." She waved an airy hand at him. "Soooo... Shishkamaru." She giggled. "I mean...Shikmamaru. Well, damn. You should really get an easier name." She snagged someone's drink from the table and finished it off.

He raised his eyebrows. "You didn't seem to be having a problem with it when you were sober."

"Maybe so...but everyone knows I'm not fun when I'm sober."

The rest of the group had gone back to talking, or to the dance floor, and he and Sakura were relatively alone at their end of the table. He was still standing, holding her on her feet to be sure she didn't hit the floor. "Who told you that, Sakura?"

She frowned up at him. "I don't need to be told. I know I'm not fun like Naruto, or Kiba, or Ino. I don't go out, I have zero social life. Look!" She pointed to Neji at the other end of their table, talking with TenTen. "Even Neji has been out on dates! And Lee is weird, but he knows how to have a good time! And I...I..."

He looked down at her, one brow raised. "You...?"

"I think I need another drink." She tried to head for the bar, but two wobbly steps left her dizzy and falling. She landed against a solid, broad chest.

"Yeah, you're going home."

She pulled her face away from Shikamaru's shirt. "Noooo. I want to have more fun!" She threw her arms drunkenly in the air and spun in place. "Let's dance."

"I don't think so." Apparently deciding it was time he took charge of the situation, Shikamaru leaned down and swiftly hefted Sakura over his shoulder.

"Just don't puke down my back, ok?"

She giggled. "Shikamaru, this is no way to pick up a girl!"

He rolled his eyes, and hooked an arm behind her knees.

"Come on, Shikamaru, put me down!" She pounded against his back. "Right now! I'm here to have fun! I have to prove I'm cabbible..capable of having fun!"

He was already on his way to the door, tossing a wave at a worried-looking Naruto. "I'll get her home," he called out, to which Naruto nodded, looking relieved.

"I don't want to go hooooooome." She pounded against his back drunkenly. "I want to...oooooh."

He stopped dead in his tracks as he felt two hands firmly grasp his backside.

"Shikamaru, your ass is FANTASTIC!" she yelled loudly, just as they were to the door. Shikamaru cringed as half the bar went silent, save for the music still playing.

"Troublesome woman," he muttered, very pink in the face. He shoved the door open and exited to loud laughter from the remaining shinobi in the bar.

* * *

Shikamaru leaned back and scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. He was a shinobi, so breaking in really shouldn't have been a problem, but it really it just felt so _wrong_ to bust into a woman's place.

Especially when said woman was standing next to him.

He tilted his head and looked at her.

Ok, well...not _standing_ persay, but...

Alright, she was leaning over the railing of her complex's second floor balcony just outside her apartment being violently ill.

'_At least it wasn't on me.'_

She started to lean over a bit further, and Shikamaru grabbed her waist before she could tip over. When she'd finished heaving, he helped her stand. Well, lean. Her back was against her front door and her head slumped forward against his chest.

"Sakura?"

She groaned a bit.

"Sakura, where's your key?"

She mumbled something into his chest that sounded like "Ips bround mry mrah."

Now he groaned. _'Please tell me she didn't say what I think she said.'_ He pulled her away from his chest.

"What was that?"

She sighed, arms hanging limply to her sides, and eyes shut. "It's down my bra."

Alright then. "Um...could you get it?"

Her right arm flopped up and then back down, bouncing against her side. Apparently, this was as close to an attempt at reaching her key as she was going to get. Her head fell forward again.

_'Yeah, I'm not going there.' _Screw it. He was breaking in.

Her place was neat, simple. It smelled faintly like vanilla bean and lavender - like her hair. He knew exactly what that smelled like, because her pink locks were tickling his lips and chin as she leaned against him, face buried in his shirt.

It was exactly what he would have imagined Sakura's home to be. As she didn't appear to be walking on her own any time soon, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her in. He looked around. Kitchen and dining area on the right, living room on the left, and a short hallway in front of him with three doors.

The first was the bathroom. The next one on the left was a closet, and the last one right next to the bathroom was his destination: her bedroom.

He jostled her softly, and she moaned, turning and furrowing her face into his neck. He could feel another blush coming on, and was thankful no one else was around to witness any of this.

"Sakura?"

"Mmmmm?" She sighed against his skin just beneath his ear.

"Feeling like you're going to vomit again any time soon?"

He felt her shake her head. "Nope," she replied sleepily. "I feel...nice. Fuzzy." She nuzzled his neck again. "And warm."

Someone up there was messing with him. Again. He hurried to pull back her covers and lower her into her bed. When he tried to pull away she clung tightly to his neck. It caught him so off-guard he fell to one knee beside the bed, his cheek pressed against hers and his nose in the pillow.

"Sakura?"

"Mmmmm?"

"I need you to let go." He reached back to pry her hands from his neck.

"Shikamaru?" She whispered into his ear. Her breath was warm, and it tickled. He closed his eyes and thought many other thoughts that didn't involve women whispering breathily in his ear, or beds, or bedrooms, or long slender arms wrapped around his neck.

He swallowed forcefully and was proud of the fact that his voice only sounded slightly hoarse when he answered a weak, "Yeah?"

"You...smell really nice." She took a long breath, her nose brushing his jawline.

"Ehhhh...thanks?"

_'Shit, shit, shit.' _He frantically filled his mind with very un-sexy things.

She loosened her hold on him, _'FINALLY,'_ and he pulled away quickly. She reached her hand up and fumbled with the ornamental sticks still holding her hair mostly in place. He pulled them out for her and put them on her nightstand.

"Shikamaru?" She tugged on his hand until he knelt down next to her again.

"Yeah?"

She leaned up and kissed him softly. When she pulled away, he stared at her, wide-eyed. She smiled crookedly. "Stay here with me?"

Some part of his brain exploded in eager male anticipation. However, every other part of him was telling him how absolutely troublesome that would be when she sobered up.

"Um, Sakura, I think you and I have had enough fun for one night."

She blinked sleepily at him. "You had fun? With me?"

He shook his head and pulled himself to his feet. "It probably would have been more fun if you hadn't been completely smashed. And puking."

"Shikamaru?" He paused, looking at her over his shoulder as he turned to leave.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for taking me home. And for letting me practice flirting with you. And for ... for... having a fantastic ass."

He looked down at her in bemusement, but she was already asleep.

He smirked. "Sure thing, Sakura. Any time."

He wondered whether or not she'd remember any of this in the morning. He kind of hoped so, just so that she could be embarrassed for once, rather than he.

* * *

**Drabble:** Not much in this one. Just some set-up and what-not. I currently have no beta. Maybe I'll look into getting one after this gets rolling a bit. Next one will have actual plot, hurrah! This should only be a three chapter story.


	2. A Mission

Thanks to all who reviewed! You're so sweet!!! And I love you. Loads.

**2. A "Mission"**

* * *

Sakura hissed as she stepped into the street.

_'Stupid sunlight.'_

Never a morning person, Sakura's disposition on this particular sunrise was even less sunny than usual due to a raging hangover.

It had only taken a few moments to recall her evening the night before that had led to her waking up in her own bed, fully dressed, reeking of vomit, and nursing a splitting headache.

The unfortunate genin who delivered a missive from the hokage to her door that morning would be nursing one as well, courtesy of Sakura's fists of fury and her less than chipper disposition.

"Sure, she leaves me rotting in labs for days at a time, but after the _one_ night I decide to loosen up a bit, she calls me in for a mission," she grumbled to herself as she made her way to the hokage's office.

She leaned against a nearby stand and ordered a large coffee – very black. The only thing the note from Tsunade had said was that she would be leaving on a mission that very evening, for an undetermined amount of time. So much for specifics. She only prayed that whoever she was on the mission with was quiet and not annoying. So basically, anyone but Naruto.

Pulling two more aspirin from her pocket, she downed them with a swig of coffee and continued onward.

Her goal for the morning was to figure out what exactly she did last night. Heavy drinking was a given. And it better have been good, considering the pain she was in this morning. She remembered messing around with Kiba, and flirting with Shikamaru but it got fuzzy after that.

She pieced through her memories as she sat outside Tsunade's office, waiting for permission to enter. After a little effort, most of it came back to her. She winced as she recalled grabbing Shikamaru's ass, and the subsequent journey back to her apartment. She cringed even more when she remembered being violently ill over her balcony and said a silent prayer of thanksgiving that there had been no one below her at the time.

But the part of the evening that really made her head spin came after Shikamaru had put her in her bed. She was pretty sure she had kissed him, which ticked her off a little bit. Not because she had kissed him, but because she couldn't really recall what it had been like.

And, to her mortification, she was also sure she had asked him to stay the night with her.

_'Ugh. You _idiot_.'_

Yes, she had kissed him and that was surely going to cause some embarrassment next time she saw him. But she had been drunk, so she wasn't going to let that get to her. It was the look in his eyes when he had pulled away from her last night that made her breathing turn shallow.

His eyes didn't show embarrassment, or revulsion, or anything she would normally expect from someone who had just been drunkenly kissed by a girl who had been vomiting not five minutes before. Nor were they set in the lazy stare that he gave so often. No, they were much more intense. It was almost as if he had wanted more, and that was truly something Sakura hadn't expected.

_'Baaaaaaaah. What do you know? You were drunk!'_ Sakura shook it off mentally and just prayed that she didn't see him any time soon. At least not until she could think of some non-embarrassing way to handle the situation.

"Sakura? Lady Tsunade is ready for you." Shizune leaned out of Tsunade's office doorway, beckoning her in.

Sakura approached the door, still contemplating what she would say to the man she had kissed last night to somehow make up for her drunken stupidity.

Tsunade greeted her a little too loudly for Sakura's poor hung-over ears. "Sakura! Good morning. Let's make this brief so you two can be on your way."

Sakura turned to look down at her partner for the aforementioned trip.

Shikamaru turned in his chair and gave her a lazy wave. "Hey. You're not still vomiting, are you?"

_'Damn it.'_

* * *

_'Ha. _Some_body's hungover.'_

Shikamaru always found humiliation and pain more humorous when he wasn't the one experiencing it.

The girl next to him was slumped over in her chair in front of the Hokage's desk, mumbling what sounded like curses into her palms. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shook his head a little and motioned for her to go on. She cleared her throat and began.

"There is a banquet being held in honor of the next daimyo of Fire. We are expected to send representatives of Konoha to the festivities. It's a fairly simple mission, but I need to send people who know how to behave properly in a social gathering. I can count on you two to not embarrass us."

At this, she looked dubiously at Sakura, who was squinting bloodshot eyes at her and fidgeting nervously. "Sakura...are you ok?"

She started a little. "I'm fine, Lady Tsunade. Thank you for your concern. I just have a bit of a headache today, but I'm sure it will clear up soon."

Tsunade snorted. "Please, Sakura. Remember who you're talking to. I know a hangover when I see one. I'd be a complete hypocrite to berate you over this, considering you were unaware that you would be called in for a mission today. But I would advise you to not drink so much while at the daimyo's mansion."

She cleared her throat and looked at them both. "That being said, enjoy yourselves. This is one of the most simple missions you can have. I'll count on you both to not embarrass us and to initiate a good relationship with the future daimyo. The festivities start tomorrow evening. You're dismissed."

Shikamaru and Sakura both stood at the same time. Only he was a little bit more graceful about it, and he didn't wince and grab his head when he reached his feet too quickly. He reached a hand out to gently hold Sakura's elbow until she was stable once again. She flinched a little at his touch, and he looked at her curiously, but she was already moving for the door. He shrugged and followed.

_'For someone with such a bad hangover, she moves pretty fast.'_ She was already down the steps and heading outside when he caught up with her.

"Sakura."

She turned toward him, but wouldn't meet his eyes directly, flashing a large fake smile at him. "Yes?"

"Yeeeah...you're taking off pretty quickly there, and we haven't even discussed a meeting time. Front gates in two hours?"

"Sounds good!" She turned quickly, and before he could say anything else she was gone.

_'Hmmm. Wonder what her problem is.'_

_'She's probably embarrassed about last night.'_ He chuckled as he made his way home to pack.

* * *

Sakura seemed to be in much better spirits during their journey to the daimyo's home. While she seemed to twitter on nervously from time to time, their trip was spent in a relatively comfortable silence.

Of course he thought about the evening before quite a bit while traveling next to her. How could he not? Sakura was a beautiful woman, and even someone as lazy as he was took the time to notice. He was intensely grateful that she had been as drunk as she was. While he normally would have preferred a nice sober exchange, the fact that she has been intoxicated provided an excuse to not be so embarrassed during their mission.

But had there not been a mission the next day? And if the teasing and flirting had gone on while both were in their right minds? Would it have led somewhere?

Shikamaru was wondering just that as they approached the borders of the daimyo's land. He pulled their invitation and scroll from the Hokage out of his pack to hand to the servant at the gate of the beautifully landscaped property and thought about how nice it was going to be to get to relax a little. Lazyness was Shikamaru's game, and he excelled at it. All he had to do was say a few words, give a few bows, and just enjoy the food and atmosphere.

"I see everything is in order, most honored guests of Konoha. Follow this path through the front gardens and a servant will be waiting for you at the front door to escort you to your rooms."

Shikamaru bobbed his head at the man and Sakura gave him a beaming smile before turning to her partner. "Isn't this place beautiful? I can't wait to get in and cleaned up. I feel so dirty and out of place."

Shikamaru said nothing, but silently felt that she looked fine. _'Girls...always obsessing over their appearances.'_

She skipped a little next to him, looking happily at the landscaping.

"You look like you're feeling better."

She blushed a little at that, and wrung her hands together. "Listen...Shikamaru. I'm really sorry about last night. I just...I let what Ino said get to me. I was out to try and prove that I wasn't just some boring stick-in-the-mud, and I got carried away."

He smirked. "Ah. So it was Ino."

She lifted a brow at him.

"I asked you last night who it was that told you you're not fun."

She laughed embarrassedly. "Anyhow, I know she's right, but...getting totally trashed was the wrong way to go about changing things. So, I'm sorry you had to go through all that trouble to get me back to my apartment. And thank you...for taking care of me. You were a gentleman, and I appreciate it. I owe you big time." Her blush darkened.

He shrugged, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "No problem. Maybe one day I'll come across a good way for you to repay me."

She smiled as they reached the front door. "Anything!"

The servant there bowed to them each and, after they informed him of their identities, he led them to a far wing of the large mansion. They passed hall after hall full of beautiful paintings and decorative screens, large vases full of elaborate arrangements, and countless doors leading to countless rooms.

He quickly felt himself growing more and more uncomfortable the further they went. At long last, the servant stopped in front of a doorway and bowed, opening the door.

"You should find everything you need here to prepare for the evening. Dinner begins in the gardens in four hours, and the ceremony will take place tomorrow morning after breakfast at eight. If you should find something amiss, ask one of the servants and they will assist you."

And before Shikamaru could say anything, the man was gone and he and Sakura were left alone in the long empty hallway. They were standing before one door. Not two. One. For one room. For the two of them. To share.

He cleared his throat before gesturing to the doorway. "Uhhh...ladies first, I guess."

He followed Sakura into the room, swallowing nervously. But his fears were allayed when he saw that it wasn't actually one bedroom that they would be sharing, _'Thank you, thank you, thank you, because if we have to share a room and she gets tipsy and comes on to me again, I'm totally screwed!'_, but a suite.

Sakura whistled. "Wow."

Wow, indeed. The room they had entered contained a seating area with a long and low sofa, a dark cherrywood table, and two extremely comfortable-looking chairs. There were vases of fresh flowers placed tastefully throughout the area, and beautiful screens separating the room from two bedrooms, and the door to what he guessed to be the bathroom was open in the far corner.

Sakura confirmed his suspicions when he heard her yell out from inside the room, "I could totally _swim_ in this tub!"

She leaned out of the doorway and grinned at him where he stood still in the entryway. "I could kiss Tsunade for sending me on this mission."

* * *

The sound of running water filled her ears and steam slowly drifted up around her as Sakura filled the enormous bathtub. Shikamaru had opted for a nap before preparing for the evening's festivities, but there was no way she was doing anything before cleaning off the grime from their trip. Besides, she was way too excited to sleep. She had an entire evening of beautiful surroundings and amazing food before her.

She leaned back in the hot water and watched her skin slowly pinken from the heat.

_'This is just what I needed. Ino's right. I'm too uptight. All the time! When was the last time I relaxed?'_

She thought back, but nothing came to mind. She trained, she worked at the hospital, she trained some more, she ate a few times throughout the day, and she went home, bathed, and slept. And then the next day...rinse and repeat.

_'Thank goodness I'm with someone quiet, too.'_ She thought about what this trip would have been like if it had been anyone else with her. With Naruto everything would have been much louder. And more orange, maybe. She loved Naruto dearly, but he was also the only one she actually spent time with on a regular basis. She needed a break.

Ino would have talked too much, Sai would have been awkward as usual, Neji cold, Lee too hyper, and most of the others she just hadn't spent enough time with to truly get to know. And while someone like Hinata would have been alright, she found that she was truly glad to be there with Shikamaru.

He was smart, he was calm, he didn't seem to complain nearly as much as she would have thought.

Not to mention, when he smirked something deep down inside of Sakura squirmed a little.

She pushed that thought far, far away and reprimanded herself as she scrubbed her body vigorously. _'Stupid, stupid imagination. It is thoughts like these that will make nice, relaxing trips with sexy, good-looking men into nerve-wracking episodes of self-torture.'_

She stopped scrubbing. _'Good-looking? SEXY? What the hell?! Where did that come from?'_

She shook her head to clear it and finished washing as quickly as possible. Obviously, the hot water was doing things to her brain cells. Like melting them. She had known Shikamaru for years! He had always been lazy, a little complaining, and utterly bored all the time. He didn't stand out at all. So where on earth had her mind come up with that particular adjective?

_'Sexy?'_

She toweled off and wrapped herself in one of the extremely comfortable robes hanging on the wall and stepped into the cooler air of the sitting room.

She froze on her way to her bedroom as she caught a glimpse of the figure draped over the sofa. He had one arm tucked beneath his head and one dangling over the side of his seat. Sakura didn't remember his shoulders being very broad. She actually remembered him being kind of skinny and gangly when they were younger. But he certainly wasn't now. She could see nice muscle tone now, and his shoulders had broadened. Long legs draped over the armrest and his chest rose and fell with his breathing.

Maybe her mind was right. Maybe he was a little sexy. A little.

When his face was all relaxed like that in sleep he looked like a completely different person. Now that his mouth wasn't scowling, smirking, or stretched in a yawn she could see that his lips were soft. There was no crease in his forehead from a narrowed or calculating expression.

Sakura shook herself to stop her staring episode and forced her feet to walk to her room to prepare for the evening.

But she couldn't really help it that while she dressed, all her mind seemed to focus on was how much her body had yearned to lean over and find out how soft those lips actually were.

* * *

**drabble: **So remember that time that I sat down to type out a chapter I had all planned in my head, and it came out completely different? I DO.

I had a story all planned out...three chapters, nice and simple, la dee da. And I sat down to type. And then I stopped paying attention somewhere along the line, and when I looked back up I found that my fingers had typed this.

Bah. Oh well. Sakura likes to sit in the bathtub and daydream about cute guys! And Shikamaru likes to....sleep!

So this story will be longer than three chapters, I think. I'm not sure how long. Now my mind and my fingers are arguing. I'll let you know who wins later.


	3. In Which Shikamaru Must Behave

Yes, huge apologies are owed. Yes, they'll be AFTER the chapter. Anyhow, on with it.

**3. In Which Shikamaru Must Behave**

* * *

Focusing on two or more things at once should not have been a problem for someone who planned out his moves at least nine steps in advance. And yet, genius though he was, Shikamaru could not wrap his brain around anything other than how warm his arm was.

It was like fire. And every time she adjusted her grip, a new piece of skin would burn beneath hers.

There was absolutely no reason for this. _'I hate, I hate, I_ hate_ hormones.' _Indeed, hormones were the only logical explanation for why just the simplest touch of her skin against him seemed to make him lose every ounce of focus he had.

She was burning holes through his shirt, he was sure of it.

After he awoke from his nap earlier to the sound of Sakura's scolding and her subsequent door-slamming, ("Shikamaru, get your lazy ass up and ready, we only have ten minutes!"), he changed his clothes, (after complaining of course), tidied his appearance as much as he could without actually having to put forth real effort, and waited, slouched against their suite door, for Sakura to exit her bedroom.

Somewhere in that time his head sagged forward against his collarbone and his eyelids slid from their normally lowered position to completely closed. He slid one eye partially open when he heard her approach and the other followed as he took in a pair of lovely ankles and well-manicured feet encased in familiar-looking silver heels. His eyes grew gradually wider as his head lifted slowly over smooth calves, black material hugging slim hips and thighs, a delicate waist, and thin straps covering graceful shoulders. Her face was pensive, yet beautiful, with only a small amount of make-up. Shikamaru was glad. She didn't need make-up.

Her face grew less tense as she took in his expression upon seeing her appearance. She actually blushed slightly at his appreciation. She cleared her throat and he shook his head slightly to disperse the fuzzyness in his head.

"Ino always told me that every female should have a 'little black dress.' I didn't believe I'd ever actually get to use mine. Do you think it's appropriate for a dinner party? I mean, I know we'll have to be in our formal shinobi attire tomorrow for the ceremony but tonight I wasn't sure..."

She was rambling now, so he cut her off quickly. "It's fine, Sakura."

Her face fell a little and he quickly ammended. "I mean...you look lovely and your outfit is perfectly appropriate." He breathed an inward sigh of relief when she brightened up considerably at that, and took note of the blush staining her cheekbones.

He reached behind him and opened the door for her, closing it behind himself. She was standing there, looking down the long expanse of elegant hallway, fingers fidgeting so much she reminded him faintly of Hinata in her more nervous moments. He stepped out next to her, holding his arm out to her with one eyebrow raised.

She stopped twisting her fingers and looked up at his face, surprised, before her expression relaxed into a smile and she looped her arm through his gratefully before they both made their way to the gardens.

And she had yet to let go. Or rather, she had, but after each introduction they made to other guests, she would loop her forearm over his elbow once again. Shikamaru wasn't sure if it was because she was nervous, or just to keep him from escaping and leaving her, but he couldn't even focus on the names of those they met because all his mind could do was puzzle over why her touch bothered him so much.

After bowing to another couple, Sakura set her hand at her throat instead, playing with the thin silver necklace there. Her hair was pulled up elegantly, similar to how it had been the night before and when she moved, the tiny charms at the end of her hair sticks tinkled slightly. He watched her eyes span over the gardens, taking in the guests, the many cloth-covered tables scattered about for eating, the flower arrangements, the peaceful koi ponds further away from the tiled area the guests were mingling on, waiting as servants brought out tray after tray of food to long tables close to the mansion. Her gaze caught the table holding a huge glass punch bowl and her face lit up.

"Are you as thirsty as I am? Would you like to come get a drink with me?"

He shrugged and wove his way to the table, her arm once again twined with his.

He focused on maintaining every appearance of casualness as he contemplated the possibilities. Hormones were the most likely culprit to these feelings. While his skin burned with the contact, the heat was spreading, and that was troublesome. Not only was his brain steaming up, but his stomach was starting to fill with liquid heat. He could feel the slightest bit of perspiration gather at his hairline, though the night was comfortingly cool.

But it was deeper than simple hormones. He didn't get like this when around Ino, even when he was holding her in his arms as she performed a mind-transfer jutsu. And he wasn't even normally like this around Sakura. In fact he was perfectly comfortable around her until she was looping her legs over his or pulling him in for a kiss.

Damn her. Put together complex strategies for nearly impossible missions, yes, but figure out what to do with this attraction to one little pink-haired girl and...

_'Wait, attraction?'_

Oh, hell, he was becoming attracted to her. He found himself focusing on her throat as she swallowed some innocent drink from a glass tumbler. And from there his mind went directly to wondering what that throat would feel like beneath his lips.

_'Stopthinkingrightnowyouidiot.'_

He inwardly beat his head against an invisible wall. This thinking would only lead to trouble. He glared at the glass in his hand.

_'Maybe the drinks are drugged. Heavily spiked?'_

He shook his head quickly. _'Gah! You were getting all hot and bothered before you even took a sip.'_ He berated himself mentally for stupidly trying to make excuses for his shameful thoughts. The truth of the matter was that he had been hot and bothered since taking a visual trip up her endless legs beneath that little black dress. That little black dress that Ino had convinced her to buy. He'd have to thank her for that later. Profusely.

He tipped the rest of his drink back quickly, wishing as he did so that there was something stronger in it. He glanced around and noted a long line of varied alcoholic beverages on another table.

_'That's more like it.'_

* * *

Sakura tilted her head to one side, watching Shikamaru hastily make his way to a long table, set up as an outdoor bar.

_'He sure left in a hurry. Wonder what's up with him?'_

She tilted her head a little further and sighed. _'I stand by my earlier observation. That ass is _fantastic_.'_

She righted herself abruptly as she felt a tap on her shoulder. She whirled around to find a smiling, handsome young man before her. She smiled back, noting how bright his blue eyes were compared to his tan features and black hair.

He bowed to her gracefully before introducing himself as Hitoshi, a nobleman who lived on an estate nearby.

She placed her hand in his outstretched one and bowed her head over it. "My name is Sakura, pleased to meet you."

He locked eyes with her as he leaned in and brushed his lips over her knuckles. She felt a blush blaze over her features. "The pleasure is entirely mine."

She let out an embarrassed giggle.

_'Ugh, did that just come from me? Get a hold of yourself!'_

"Are you enjoying your time thus far?"

"Oh!" Sakura quickly quit berating herself mentally to focus on the conversation. "Oh, yes. It's been lovely. It's so beautiful here! And the food they're putting out looks wonderful"

He chuckled. "It does, doesn't it. I've eaten here many times at several events. They always outdo themselves."

He peered over her shoulder. "Actually, it looks as though they are about to commence with dinner. Would you like me to escort you to a table?"

He held his hand out to her again, but before Sakura could think about taking it, she felt a warm hand against her arm.

She turned to find Shikamaru next to her, a drink in his other hand, looking at Hitoshi with dislike. _'But they haven't even met, surely I must be reading him wrong.'_

She looked over to see that Hitoshi was glaring at Shikamaru slightly as well. Sakura rolled her eyes. _'Men.'_

Shikamaru cleared his throat and look down at Sakura. "I've found us a table. Are you ready?"

She looked from Hitoshi to Shikamaru and back. Not wanting to be rude, she hesitantly replied. "Yes, and perhaps there is room a the table for our new friend?"

His hand slid down her arm and into her hand, tugging her gently along after him as he turned and headed to the far end of the gardens. "Nope! Sorry!"

She sent an apologetic look over her shoulder at an irritated Hitoshi and followed her partner away.

* * *

When he had turned from the bar with drink in hand, and one peacefully residing in his stomach and making its way through his veins, to see Sakura being fawned over by some pretty-boy nobleman, something in him went sour. He didn't know why he should care. But he did. It irritated him that he felt the need to go over there and deck him. It irritated him even more, though, that a tiny voice in the back of his head was snidely saying, "Jealous, much?"

He planned on silencing that voice later. For now, his body was taking him to the pair with intentions of either dragging her away, or of tossing the fool in a koi pond. His mind quickly argued with the rest of him, perceiving immediately that Sakura might not be all too pleased if he just grabbed her and hauled her off. She was much too independant for that. _'And obstinate,'_ his mind supplied.

And he doubted it would go over very well with his host, or his hokage for that matter, if he were to start tossing guests into ponds. He doubted the fish would like it much either.

So, with the well-being of the fish in mind, he decided to simply lure Sakura away to a table he had his eye on earlier.

However, the moment his hand made contact with her arm, and when he was close enough to see the lust clearly written in the idiot's eyes, he couldn't quite bring himself to be as polite as he originally intended. The look he was giving her was almost a leer, and so Shikamaru had no qualms about being less than polite. In fact he had difficulty being as nice as he was.

So, once he had practically hauled Sakura to their table bodily, he wasn't all that surprised when she glared at him, sitting down and turning her seat toward his to give him a piece of her mind.

"What in the hell is your problem? You were really rude back there! That was one of the daimyo's friends!"

He looked away a little guiltily at that and sat down.

"Well? Don't you have anything to say for yourself? I'd expect something like this from Naruto, but not from you, Shikamaru."

He sighed, running his hand over his hair. "I'm sorry...I don't know what's wrong with me tonight. That guy just...he just didn't look very trustworthy, ok?"

She growled in annoyance. "He didn't do anything wrong!"

"I know, I know. He didn't _do_ anything. But..."

She raised an eyebrow as he trailed off in obvious discomfort.

"But...what?"

He scowled and looked away. "I don't know. It wasn't what he did, it was how he was looking at you."

She sat back in slight surprise. "I didn't notice anything odd."

He rolled his eyes. "Sakura, you never do. You're completely oblivious to it."

Well, that might have been a bad choice of words. Her eyes went dangerously narrow as she glared at him.

"Oblivious, am I?"

He waved his hands in front of him, paniced. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant you're oblivious to the way people see you."

She held her scowl, waiting for him to continue.

He sighed...again. "Sakura, it's like the other night when you said you weren't any fun - that you weren't a fun person to be around. But you are. You don't have to be crazy and hyper or loud and flirty to be fun. And you are insecure a lot. But you wouldn't be, if you knew how people saw you."

Her expression lightened and his nerves calmed down slightly, his legs less tense as the urge to run for his life lessened.

She bit her lower lip. "Shikamaru...how do people see me?"

_'Well, shit.'_ He glanced around uneasily, unable to keep his eyes on her face.

"Shikamaru?"

With a groan, he scratched the back of his head and tried to choose his words carefully. "Well, you're very talented. Everyone knows that. You're freakishly strong, but you don't look like some butch chick with a buzz cut who may or may not pound my skull into my chest cavity. You're more delicate looking than that. You're...pretty." He squirmed, fighting a blush.

Sakura smiled tentatively at him. "You...you think I'm pretty?"

_'Of course she'd latch on to _that_ part of the conversation.'_

He tossed down his drink before he mumbled at her. "You're pretty, alright? Everyone seems to know it but you."

He glared at his glass in his hand, wishing there was more. She got plastered the night before. Maybe she could be the one dragging his sorry drunken ass around this time. He just wanted to drink himself into oblivion and completely forget this entire awkward business. And then he could sleep it off. And in the morning, hopefully this stupid ache in his stomach and tightening in his chest would be gone.

He nearly dropped the glass in his hand when he felt cool fingertips on his cheek. He looked up, startled, to find Sakura a lot closer than she had been before and looking at him with - _some_thing - in her expression that he couldn't quite name. Or maybe he could, but he was in a bit of denial.

He was busy arguing with himself when he felt her lean in and kiss his jaw softly, her hand still cradling the other side of his face, which was growing hotter, and most likely pinker, every second. At that point, his brain stopped arguing internally. It actually stopped completely for a moment. When she finally pulled away with a blush and a small smile on her face, his mind rapidly tried to make up for its momentary lapse, sending him reeling.

He sat frozen like that for a second, finally jerking himself to the present when she giggled softly.

"Come on Shikamaru. They're serving dinner now, and I'm famished."

He nodded faintly as he stood next to her. He looked down at her in slight amazement, and finally let the corner of his mouth turn up into a small smile as he offered her his arm again. His insides were still swirling around anxiously, his heart was beating just a little too fast for his taste, his mouth had gone dry, and his mind was still foggy and unfocused.

And when she took his arm, and as they walked to the overladen tables together, he thought about how badly being near her messed with his poor abused mind and body.

He smirked a little more at that. _'Well worth it.'_

* * *

**drabble:** Ok. I know. I have no excuses. I had time. I had a working computer. It was sheer lazyness and perhaps a little lack of inspiration on my part. Luckily, I'm so inspired for the next chapter, I'm starting on it right now. I'm posting this now, and editing it later so that it's out there and I can feel accomplished, and you can be happy. Maybe. I dearly hope you're happy.

Either two or three more to go. Probably three.

And thank you so much for all the lovely reviews. I read every last one. You're angels! I don't deserve them, but I'm extremely grateful to you!

FEEL MY LOVE!!!!!


	4. In Which Shikamaru Does Not Behave

**4. In Which Shikamaru Does Not Behave At All**

Dinner was sublime. She was pretty sure that this was due just as much to the fantastic company as it was to the food. To be more exact, Sakura was pretty sure that this was due to Shikamaru. It wasn't that he had said anything profound, or that he was particularly charming that evening. It was simply his presence.

Despite what he said to Hitoshi, all the chairs were empty at their table when they had their little discussion.

Sakura smiled happily at the memory. Shikamaru rarely doled out compliments, even when under duress. So when he told her she was pretty, with that cute little blush and a put-upon expression on his scowling face, she didn't think about kissing him. She just did it. And she was glad.

When they came back from the food tables, they found two other couples seated around their table. Sakura was relieved that they had left their empty glasses there to hold their spot. The table was in the corner of the garden, very close to one of the larger koi ponds. She had been eyeing the tiny bamboo bridge over the water throughout the evening, imagining what a peaceful, beautiful spot it must be. She'd have to separate from the crowd later and enjoy it.

She had always liked water. It was such a versatile element, and in its calm state it could soothe away all her worries.

"It's lovely, isn't it?"

Sakura turned to the elderly woman next to her, who was also gazing out at the bridge and ponds beneath the shade of several weeping trees whose branches were just long enough to dip into the water below. She smiled at the woman when she turned back to catch her eye.

"Yes. It is. I was just thinking about how I'd like to sneak back there for a while before the night's over."

The old woman smiled delightedly at her, a glimpse of a young girl in her wrinkled face. "Oooh, that sounds like fun. You should! Never pass up an opportunity to slow down and appreciate the stillness, young one. Life hurries by so quickly. Do not let beautifully peaceful moments slip by!"

Sakura grinned warmly at her, taking her advice to heart. "I won't. I promise."

She looked over to where Shikamaru was speaking with who she assumed was the elderly woman's husband. She was just trying to figure out what sort of subject could have the laid-back shinobi so enthused when she saw the old man pull a tiny game board out of his jacket, a cloth bag of pieces after it.

Sakura shook her head in amusement. _'I should have known. Shogi.'_

The woman next to her laughed, catching sight of the two men setting up pieces together. "It would seem our companions have found a kindred spirit in one another."

Sakura giggled as well. "You have no idea."

"Well, my dear, there are a few friends here I'd like to go and visit with. If I were you, I'd take this moment to take a nice peaceful stroll and enjoy the gardens." She glanced at the two men, who were now intensely focused on their game, in amusement. "I think you'll have a good deal of free time to do so."

Sakura smiled. "Knowing Shikamaru, I think you're likely right."

* * *

The further she got from the crowd of guests, the more at peace Sakura began to feel. No one was watching her here. No one was judging her appearance, or expecting polite conversation. Here Sakura could relax and enjoy her beautiful surroundings. Shinobi often traveled to many places and saw wonderful sights, but rarely were they afforded the time to appreciate them. And yet, Sakura had always loved nature, and took in as much as she could.

She walked silently beneath leafy cherry trees, gingko, and maples. She paused inside a beautiful gazebo, set next to a small creek that wound sinuously through the gardens. Everything around her was perfectly groomed, cared for with gentleness and precision.

Leaning against the railing closest to the party, she looked out over the twinkle of lights that could be seen filtering through leafy boughs. If she focused, Sakura could make out the faint murmur of conversation over the music of flowing water. She smiled. _'Shikamaru's probably still at that game.'_

She had, of course, leaned over to tell him where she was going. It would not only have been rude not to, but also dangerous. A mission was a mission after all, and a partner should always be aware of where the other was.

She was pretty sure he had heard her. He nodded absently after she had whispered in his ear, but never took his eyes from the game. She blushed when she remembered how he had stiffened slightly as she leaned over him, her nose accidently grazing his ear. She wasn't sure why his close proximity affected her so.

But it did. Oh, how it did.

She shivered slightly in memory, eyes looking beyond the scene in front of her.

She could see his face clearly in her mind's eye. When one looked beyond his bored expressions, one could see that he had sharp, calculating eyes that were softened with sooty eyelashes. (She never found it fair when men has thicker eyelashes than she, but she was still grateful for his.) They were a rich dark brown. Not murky, or muddy. Not cold, wooden, and indifferent. They reminded her of...

_'Chocolate._' She giggled to herself._ 'Rich, yummy chocolate.'_

And his lips! There was something about that lazy smirk of his that made her stomach just flop right over inside of her. It couldn't possibly be healthy. They weren't exceptionally full lips, but weren't too thin either. And they were soft.

_'There is no way he doesn't wear some form of lip balm.'_

And his body was definitely worth noting as well. He wasn't thin and lanky - his strong shoulders and legs kept him from fitting into this category. And his slimmer hips and toned abdomen kept him from being bulky looking.

She sighed a little. It wasn't like he was perfect or anything. His facial features were a little sharp, and his demeanor was, well, it had room for improvement. But Sakura found herself inexplicably drawn to him anyway. They clicked nicely together, and all of his quirks were humorous and endearing.

_'Damn. If he wasn't such a puzzle, I might have some sort of clue about what to do about this... this...'_

She furrorwed her brows._ 'Attraction?'_

She had found herself staring at him periodically throughout dinner. He was making polite conversation with other members of the table, putting forth more effort than she usually saw from him. If she had been a paranoid person, she would have thought he was purposely making himself busy by talking to other people at the table. But why? To avoid conversation with her? The Shikamaru she knew would have eaten his dinner with as little conversation as possible. He wasn't rude, but he didn't go out of his way to be congenial either.

And yet he had been. He smiled politely, nodded his head, responded to questions. Usually Sakura was the one who did such things, the more friendly and out-going of her peers. But she found herself sitting there in near silence, watching his hands gesture, his lips speak. He had really nice looking hands, she noticed. And his mouth looked soft when he spoke. Soft and sensual.

Well, damn. She shook her head back to the present.

"Is something troubling you?" Sakura spun and had to stop herself from knocking the man's head clean off his shoulders. She relaxed slightly when she saw it was only Hitoshi.

To his own credit, he only cowered slightly at the very real threat that a kunoichi caught off-guard could bring upon his person. And he straightened quickly, flustered. He nodded to her.

"You seemed to be brooding a bit."

She smiled politely at him before leaning against the railing again. He stepped further into the gazebo and leaned casually next to her, just a bit too close for her comfort.

"Someone so lovely should not be off alone on such a nice night. It would be a crime to waste such beauty."

Sakura raised a brow at the line. "I was just enjoying the peace and quiet and how gorgeous the gardens are at night. I enjoy taking walks by myself. It gives me time to think."

_'Surely he'll take the hint.'_

He smiled charmingly at her. "A delicate young woman like yourself shouldn't wander unaccompanied, though."

_'This from the guy who was nearly cowering before me less than two minutes ago.'_

This time her smile was more forced. "I assure you, I'm quite capable of taking care of myself." He leaned in closer to her and she moved away. "If you'll excuse me..."

Sakura left the gazebo, hoping he wasn't so full of himself that he'd follow her.

He was.

He was next to her in a moment, telling her about his own estate ("Though it of course isn't nearly so large as this one, I like to think it rivals it in taste and beauty. You really must see my own gardens, they are quite a sight to behold..."), keeping pace with her hurried steps as she wound her way through the small footpaths, hoping he'd lose interest and stop trying to keep up with her.

She finally stopped on the small bridge she had been gazing at during dinner, placing both hands on the railing in front of her. A few koi swam lazily about beneath her, long trailing fins rippling in the water, lantern light reflecting from their scales. She could see her table from here, her empty seat where her dishes had been cleared away by a servant. One of the older couples still remained chatting, but Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen.

Her knuckles turned whiter as her gripped tightened on the banister. Hitoshi was getting less charming by the second as he rambled on next to her. She had tuned him out, trying to think of a polite way to excuse herself without decking him when she felt his hand on one of hers. She glared at the offending appendage, but he took no notice, raising it to his lips.

"Perhaps I could interest you in a visit sometime?"

She blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"My estate, my dear. I would be honored at your presence."

She grimaced, trying to force the expression into a smile. "Ah, I'm really quite busy."

He laughed as though he found this idea quite absurd.

All attempts at politeness gone, Sakura glared at him. She tugged at her hand, but his grip had tightened, holding her fingers to his lips again. She tried not to shudder in disgust as she felt him nibble at one of her knuckles. "Excuse me, but I would appreciate it if you would remove your hand from my person." she started angrily, "and please leave me in to finish my walk in peace." She did yank her hand away at that, wiping it on her thigh to remove the dampness.

He stepped closer to her, placing a hand on the railing on either side of her waist, pressing forward. "My darling, you're even lovelier when you're all worked up like this. Please...do me the honor of escorting me to my quarters this evening. I assure you..." he leaned in close, smelling her hair, "you won't be disappointed."

"Ugh!" She shoved him off of her, furiously repeating in her head, _'You can't maim him, you're a guest. You can't maim him, you're a guest...'_

She turned on her heel to storm off before she did something that would get her into trouble when she ran headfirst into her partner. He was standing, arms crossed over his chest, glaring over her shoulder at the man now behind her.

"Shikamaru," she gasped. _'That is the second time someone has snuck up on me tonight. What is my deal?!'_

He didn't glance down at her, but spoke in a cold voice to Hitoshi. "She could easily kick your ass. She's obviously not doing so out of politeness. If I see you talking to her again, you'll find out that I'm not as concerned with courtesy as she is."

Sakura glanced back and forth between the two men who were currently staring each other down. She was about to open her mouth to tell Shikamaru that she was just fine and had handled the situation when Hitoshi was stupid enough to open his mouth again.

"You are obviously unaware of who you're talking to, boy. I would show more respect to those of title, if I were you."

Sakura fought her gagging reflex while Shikamaru raised a solitary brow, apparently unimpressed.

"Come, my dear." Hitoshi reached a hand out and snagged Sakura by the elbow. Turning an angry glare to the grabby man, she was wholly unprepared for Shikamaru's reaction. His hand shot forward, breaking Hitoshi's grasp on Sakura's arm and twisting the appendage behind the man's body. Judging by the Hitoshi's gasp and the tears that instantly sprang to his eyes, Sakura assumed it was rather painful.

Shikamaru skewed a bored look at the man he held so easily before he seemed to come sort of internal decision.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when he let go of Hitoshi's arm and began to walk past him, in her direction. But her sigh changed to a gasp of surprise when she watched him extend his arm with an air of nonchalance and flip Hitoshi's body directly over the railing of the tiny bridge and into the koi pond below.

* * *

The splash that resounded and the subsequent sputtering of the astonished nobleman splayed out on his ass in two feet of water were perhaps the most beautiful noises to grace Shikamaru's ears all evening.

He smiled serenely down at the scene below, amusing himself further by trying to decide who looked more astonished at the current situation: Hitoshi, the koi, or Sakura.

Sakura's features quickly turned from shock to anger, however.

"What the hell, Shikamaru?!"

He raised an eyebrow in question.

"You can't just go around tossing noblemen into ponds. ESPECIALLY ones who are personal friends of our host!"

He bit back a chuckle when Hitoshi, trying to scramble out of the water, slid on a mossy stone and fell once again into the pond, before finally marching off in an indignant huff, spouting angry promises of retribution.

Sakura looked like she was about to chase after him and apologize when Shikamaru reached out and caught her arm. She stilled, not facing him. Her arm relaxed under his grip after a Hitoshi had finally disappeared from sight around a copse of trees.

He let his arm drop and she heaved a sigh.

He watched her pinch the bridge of her nose, mumbling something about being thrown out on their asses, never being able to face Tsunade again, and international relations going down the crapper.

Hmmm. Perhaps he had been a bit hasty. But he couldn't bring himself to feel too repentent. That bastard deserved far worse. No one manhandled his partner and got away with it. It was blatantly obvious that Sakura hadn't been about to do anything about the guy's attitude, so for once in his life he was going to step up to the task.

He glanced back up at her when she dropped her hands to her sides again and turned to face him. "Care to explain?"

He shrugged. "He had it coming."

"Shikamaru, I can handle myself. Just because he was being a complete sexist bastard doesn't mean you have to go charging in." She shook her head. "Wait, since when do you go 'charging in' anyway? Taking the initiative doesn't really seem to be your thing."

Not really knowing how to reply, he simply leaned back against the railing and shoved his hands in his pockets. When he had finished his game with the elderly gentleman at the table (He hoped and prayed he would be as relaxed and enjoyable as that man one day!) he had gone in search of his partner. When she hadn't been sneaking glances at him during dinner, he had been eyeing her carefully, not missing the wistful expression on her face as she looked out at the gardens. He could empathize. He was a cloud watcher, after all. He knew a thing or two about peace and solitude and just enjoying the stillness. So he headed directly for that bridge she had her eyes on, and wasn't disappointed. She appeared around a corner of bushes just moments after he had encountered the path by the pond that led to the little bridge. What he was disappointed by was the fact that she was looking obviously harried and annoyedd. The cause followed her moments later, and Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in anger, his fists clenched.

But why? Why so angry? He had nothing to be jealous of. Certainly nothing to be possessive of. And yet, all he could think about was knocking Hitoshi into next week for even thinking about approaching Sakura again and causing that angry and harrassed expression on her face.

So, Shikamaru was just as stumped as Sakura. He had no explanation, and this was a first.

He slid his eyes back to her as the silence stretched between them.

She toyed with her fingertips and let out a long breath. _'Here it comes,'_ he thought. _'This is where I get bawled out.'_

She stepped forward and Shikamaru had to stop himself from cringing from the slap that was sure to follow. He looked away, ready to take it like a man, when she leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek.

He blinked.

_'Well. That was unexpected.'_

"You acted completely irrationally, idiotically, and you might have just gotten us both kicked out and made us fail what could possibly be the simplest mission in history."

She huffed quietly, her cheeks turning pinker by the moment as he just stood there and gaped at her.

"However, I know you...and I've never seen you act that way before. And so I know that something must have really affected you to do something like that. I mean, let's face it...you're no Naruto. You don't just fly off the handle like that all the time."

She smiled a little. "And I know that you did so on my behalf. To be honest, you did what I really wanted to do. So, thank you, Shikamaru." She smirked and fisted her hands on her hips. "In your own stupid male way, that was really...sweet."

She flashed him one more embarrassed smile. "Now quit gaping at me like some fish, and walk me back to our room."

He finally shut his mouth, shook away his dazed expression and attempted to get a grasp on what had just transpired.

He stared at the woman before him as she smirked at him, waiting for him to get a grip on himself.

_'Don't question it, man. Just be grateful.' _He shook his head slightly and smiled before stepping forward and offering her his arm.

She took it and they started off on the path that would lead them back toward the mansion.

"Well," she said, "Here's hoping they haven't already tossed our bags out of our rooms yet. I'd really like to get the chance to actually sleep in the place before being banned from ever entering it again."

* * *

Perhaps it was because he had been too embarrassed to report the incident to anyone. Perhaps they were in for a more public dressing-down in the morning. Whatever the reason, Sakura and Shikamaru found their room as they left it, and spent the evening peacefully, if somewhat nervously, there. He had never seen Sakura flinch so much. She was constantly shooting glances at the door, probably waiting to be tossed out for his earlier actions.

When a knock finally did come at the door, she yelped loudly and stood frozen in the midst of pacing back and forth in front of the window of their common area. Shikamaru, less jumpy, calmly answered the door to find a servant standing there.

He raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

The servant bowed slightly. "Sir, we are just checking in for the evening before our guests retire, to be sure that nothing else is needed."

Shikamaru shot a look at Sakura to see her relax her shoulders slightly. "We're fine, thank you."

"Very well, sir. Breakfast is at eight in the morning, followed by audiences with the new daimyo."

Shikamaru nodded as the servant turned to go on to the next guest suite and shut the door.

Sakura let out a loud sigh of relief before collapsing on the sofa. "Unbelievable. I can't believe that windbag didn't turn us in."

Shikamaru shrugged and sat next to her, tossing his feet onto the low table before them and leaning his head back in relaxation. "Eh. Maybe he did. Maybe we're just too much trouble to deal with tonight. Or perhaps the daimyo wants to publicly humiliate us in the morning. Or..."

Her hand was warm and trembling slightly against his lips. "Not another word, Shika. Not one," she said tightly. He nodded at her and she let her hand drop to her lap before she raised them both, long fingers massaging her temples.

"You worry too much." She looked over at him.

"And you don't worry enough."

He shrugged and smirked a little, closing his eyes as he leaned back in a stretch. "What happens happens, Sakura."

She slanted a disbelieving look at him. "Shikamaru, you're a strategist. I can't believe that just came out of the mouth of someone who excels in planning and altering sequences of events."

He grinned lazily. "True. But when the situation is no longer in my hands, and the outcome can't possibly be changed, then why worry about it? It's a waste of energy and impractical."

"You know what's more impractical?" She glared at him, leaning in and causing him to sink further back into the sofa until he could back away from her close glare no further. "Damning all consequences and dumping potentially important people into koi ponds."

He couldn't help it. She just looked so...alluring when she was all riled up like that. He reached out and tapped her nose. She looked cross-eyed at the offending digit, appearing momentarily shocked out of her irritation.

"Admit it, Sakura," he drawled. "You're just mad that I got the pleasure of tossing him on his ass, and you didn't."

Only then, when he finally felt her breath hot and stuttering against his hand, did he realize that she had stopped breathing when he had placed his finger on her nose. She was still leaning over him, one hand outstretched and holding her propped against the armrest to his right, her body tensed and twisted toward him on his left. Her face was so close to his, in fact, that when the blush started to spread over her cheeks he could actually feel the heat of it against his own.

He cleared his throat and drew his finger slowly from the tip of her nose to her lips, watching his own actions as if he was no longer in control of his appendages.

_'Damn. Get a grip on yourself.'_

He shook his head slightly and tapped her lips, forcing a casual chuckle. She shook her head slightly, as if coming out of a daze and he watched her gaze travel from his lips to his eyes, looking a little disoriented.

_'That was close. If she didn't stop looking at me like that, I'm not sure what I would have done.'_

She seemed to get a grip on herself as her blush deepened and that slightly irritated look came back - the one she always got when she felt awkward about a situation and wasn't sure what to do about it.

He chuckled again and her glare deepened.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Nara. But if anything bad comes out of all this, you can rest assured it will be your ass that I'll be tossing."

He laughed outright as she got up from the couch in a huff and headed for the bathroom. "I knew it. You've been wanting to get your hands on my ass all evening. Can't get it off your mind, can you?"

He ducked, still laughing, as her shoe went sailing over his head. He shook his head and sighed to himself as he heard her slam the bathroom door loudly.

Messing with her was just way too much fun.

* * *

I'm not bothering with excuses. I had 80% of this written since Thanksgiving. I'm just now posting it. I suck at life.

However, many of you are still nice enough to review. And for that I thank you! I WILL try harder. I only write short bits at a time, I know, but that seems to be how my inspiration hits...tiny bits at a time! And THIS is why I should stick to one-shots. Or drabbles. Bleh.

Feel my love.


	5. Future Relations

A/N: Important note! (Ok, not THAT important, but anyhow...) DracheGirl14 made an excellent note in her review. She observed that I could flesh out my chapters more with some more detail. She balanced this criticism with some very nice comments, and I found the observation extremely helpful! True constructive criticism!

It's SO true. My first chapter I felt was very well fleshed out, nice and descriptive. But then again, I was planning it as a oneshot when I started. And then I had ideas for a cute short fic and so I thought I'd go with it, just for kicks. But the chapters got subsequentially less descriptive after that, ESPECIALLY chapters three and four. Well, I've gone back and added loads to four. I plan on helping three along tomorrow.

I added some more of the thoughts of both Shikamaru and Sakura, as well as descriptions of everything in general.

Rereading chapter four isn't essential for plot, I just felt it made the story better overall. If you'd like to read through and tell me what you think, that's great and very nice of you! If not, also fine! I really just did it for future readers, as well as for myself.

I also went through this one several times, fleshing it out, before posting. I hope I did better!

Again, thank you ALL for you helpful comments, and thanks Drachegirl14 for such good advice. (I'm never one to turn down good advice!)

Anyhow, on with it!

**5. Future Relations**

* * *

She was a little alarmed to hear the door to their suite open sometime after they had both gone to bed. She was less alarmed when she heard the mysterious individual trip headfirst over a rug.

She turned over to lie on her back, tilting her head to the side on her pillow, her pink hair splayed out around her head.

What could have possibly made that idiot think that this was a good idea? They were shinobi, for goodness' sake. One just didn't send civilians in to sneak up on shinobi.

_'Egotistical idiot.'_

Her mouth twitched as she heard what sounded like someone's shin colliding with a table, followed by a muffled male curse.

She was trying to decide whether to find the situation annoying or hilarious. It was a close contest. She sat up in bed and crossed her legs in front of her as she sensed Shikamaru's entrance into her room.

"It would seem we have a visitor," he whispered softly to her, as she felt the bed dip beneath his weight.

Hilarity was quickly winning her over as she whispered back, "How intriguing."

He chuckled softly, obviously finding the situation humorous as well. "That fool."

She shook her head. "I'm assuming it's not actually him, but one of his servants?"

She saw the outline of his head nod in the faint moonlight streaming in from her window.

"This is what you get for pushing people into ponds, Shikamaru."

"What, strange men bumbling around in the dark? I hardly find that intimidating. The worst he could do is accidently knock a lamp on my head and give me a concussion." He leaned over and bumped her with his shoulder. "But of course, there's always my wonderful medic partner around to patch me up good as new, right?"

They both cringed a bit as another thud echoed through the suite. "What do you suppose that was?"

She felt Shikamaru tilt his head as he answered. "Oh, probably one of the dining chairs."

She frowned in confusion. It was clear by the noise that their intruder was barely inside their suite, still in the sitting area. "But those are in the kitchen area. He couldn't run into one of those where he is."

She heard him chuckle softly. "He could if I moved one into his path."

She turned in his direction, wide-eyed, and shoved him lightly on his arm. "Oh, you're bad. What's gotten into you tonight?"

He rubbed his arm as he shrugged. "I think you're a bad influence on me. All those pranks you guys pulled on Kakashi over the years... and don't pretend that was just Naruto. I know you were involved too."

She giggled softly and leapt off the bed, grabbing his hand and pulling him along in the process. She could admit to herself that her mischevious streak was about as wide as her stubborn streak. "Come on, let's have just a little more fun with him."

They crept together past the screen of her bedroom into the common area where they could both sense a lone figure inching his way slowly toward Shikamaru's empty room. There was no way anyone could have known that this was the particular room where Shikamaru was sleeping, so the man must have just made a lucky guess.

Sakura smiled and easily made her way through the darkness, soundless and without detection. She felt Shikamaru follow her, and smiled as, with just the slightest application of chakra, she gracefully lifted a side table from beside the couch and placed it six inches in front of the creeping man.

They both had to stifle laughter as he fell headfirst over the furniture, hitting his head as he landed on the floor on the other side.

She thought she might die, trying to hold in her giggles. She turned around and smothered her face in Shikamaru's chest. She could feel him trembling with suppressed laughter as his hand clutched her shoulder.

She wasn't sure what had gotten into them. It felt like a late-night with Ino, where the two girls stayed up far too late, getting giddy from lack of sleep and too much sugar. But this was Shikamaru! He was the most laid-back, sarcastic guy Sakura had ever met, with the possible exception of Kakashi. And here they both were, acting like silly teenagers, doubled over with silent laughter and enjoying what should have been an annoying wake-up.

It _should_ have been annoying. But somehow, they were both having a great time. Sakura was sure that this was one of those occasions that she would always remember and would one day look back on with fondness and laughter.

They gained control of themselves and she felt him move away from her and in the direction of the man's muttered cursing.

She saw Shikamaru's outline holding a large ornamental vase in one hand. It was at head level, and directly before their "attacker."

She doubled over at the sound of the collision and subsequent sounds of shattering glass. The man grabbed his forehead and had apparently decided to cut and run. He was heading quickly for the general direction of the door when he ran headlong into Shikamaru, who flicked on the lights.

The man squinted and panicked. Shikamaru watched him with dry amusement, trying to keep a straight face as their visitor froze, looking up at him.

"Can I help you?"

The man, still holding his forehead and sporting a bloody nose, shook his head slowly.

"Could you send Hitoshi a message for me?"

The man cringed, his ears turning red.

"Advise him not to attempt this again. And tell him that if he's interested in another swim, to look me up."

Sakura felt vaguely sorry for the poor guy. He was probably just some servant only following orders. But the look on his face as he scrambled for the door next to Shikamaru was priceless.

She watched Shikamaru lean out the door to watch the man's exodus down the hall.

"It would seem that he's just as clumsy in the light as he is in the dark."

She giggled. "What makes you say that?"

He smiled, still looking down the hallway. "He's knocked over three vases, tripped twice, and is currently trying to disentangle himself from a set of curtains."

Sakura burst out laughing, relieved to finally be able to do so. She heard Shikamaru chuckling as he shut the door and started back toward her.

Just as they both took a deep breath to settle back down they heard what sounded like large metal curtain rods hitting the tiled flooring.

She eyed Shikamaru and he looked back at her before they both burst into simultaneous fits of laughter. She let her forehead fall on his shoulder as he leaned against the couch.

He had a nice laugh. Sakura didn't think she had ever heard it before. Small chuckles, but not out and out laughter. It was a lovely baritone and it came from deep in his chest. She smiled and placed her hand against him to push herself upright again.

Her fingers touched warm flesh.

How the _hell_ did she not realize that he wasn't wearing a shirt all this time?!

She remained frozen there, her hand over one pectoral muscle, her fingers grazing his collar bone as his laughter faded and he breathed a deep sigh.

"I don't think I've had this much fun on a mission... ever. They're usually so troublesome. "

The skin on his chest was a soft tan, like his face and hands. He was probably like most other males she had worked with. If it got too hot, they had the luxury of being able to remove shirts. Sakura couldn't make out much of a tan line, so she wondered just how often he trained like that, and also wondered why Ino had never bothered to impart such a fact. She made a mental note to ask her friend about their training sessions and past missions later. But right now...

Little cogs starting popping loose in her head and her brain function stuttered to a halt, frozen on one thought as her eyes slid slowly over his bare torso.

_'His abs are just as amazing as his ass.'_

They weren't overly formed. There was still a softness about them, so that while she could still see the form of his abdominal and pectoral muscles, she could also tell just by looking at them that he didn't spend every waking hour working out and forming them. This was a body crafted from hard work and training, but not rigid workouts intended only for defining muscle. This body was more natural, and that sort of thing appealed to her.

She wondered what would happen if she ran her hands over his stomach. She wondered if he was ticklish.

He shifted slightly under her hand. "Sakura?"

She wondered why the hell she hadn't stopped staring at him yet.

She started slightly and gazed up at him, lifting her forehead from the front of his shoulder. He was leaning against the back of the couch, both of his hands now resting on it. She only just realized the position she was in - facing him, tilted just slightly with her right hip and hand against the couch, her left hand on his chest. His bare chest.

His brown eyes were a little confused as he looked down at her. "Are you ok?"

She bit her lip and removed her hand slowly, letting it trail lightly down his chest as it fell to her side.

It did not escape her notice that tiny little goosebumps broke out at her trailing touch.

* * *

He had never had to give himself breathing instructions before. It was supposed to be a subconcious action. Like blinking. And his heart beating.

So why the hell did he have to force his lungs into action?

_'In. Out. In...you dumbass.'_

Pretending that her touch wasn't affecting him was perhaps the most difficult thing he had ever done. Worse than any covert mission. He did his best to continue playing it casual, repressing a shiver as her fingers finally left his skin.

_'And I thought it was bad when I had a shirt to separate us.'_ The skin on skin contact was far worse than what he had experienced from her earlier in the evening.

_'Worse? Or better?'_

And _that_ was an excellent question. Her touch was disorienting, yes. Disconcerting, yes. Slowly scaring the hell out of him, yes. But was it a bad thing?

He could feel a burning hot sensation pooling deep in his gut and couldn't help but think of the sensation as good.

Very good.

And yet so troublesome at the same time.

She was still standing close, her hip touching his. Her body was placed just in front of his outstretched arm, his hand clenching the back of the couch. All he had to do was lift that hand and he could feel the silky smooth texture of her bare arm, run his fingers through the soft hair at the base of her neck.

He clenched the sofa harder to fight the urge.

She wasn't helping, either. She had dropped her gaze and was staring at his abdomen. And while part of him filled with male pride, another part of him was tensing with awkward nervousness.

_'Damn conflicting emotions. Damn... hormones.'_

Part of him wanted to back away, insistent that this entire situation was just too difficult, too troublesome. That dealing with her was just too much of a hastle.

Another part of him wanted to grab her and run his hands under that skimpy little foam-green tank top she had worn to bed, slide them over her bare thighs and let his fingers slip up under the hem of her silky black shorts whose length his mind identified simply as 'indecent.'

_'Breathe, you idiot.'_

He felt slightly better as more oxygen rushed to his brain, and he shifted slightly, cleared his throat, and repeated, "Sakura, are you ok?"

She started and looked up at him quickly. She was fidgeting nervously, unsure of herself, and Shikamaru couldn't stop the smirk that lifted his lips.

A fast hot blush stained her cheeks and he almost laughed, but controlled himself, merely raising his eyebrows at her, re-asking his question with his expression.

She twittered nervously and flapped an airy hand, still blushing. "Fine, fine!" She cleared her throat. "I'm... I'm just fine. You?"

He did chuckle now at her obviously flustered state. "Fine."

Her eyes seemed to be magnetically drawn to his torso. His smirk lifted into a cocky grin. "Sakura?"

Her eyes shot back to his face to find him grinning.

There was one thing he had always known about Sakura. And it was that whenever she questioned her emotions, she immediately shot to her old stand-by: irritation.

She scowled up at his slightly arrogant expression. She knew she had been caught ogling.

"What? A bit... distracted?"

"Oh!" She huffed and backhanded him in the stomach before turning to march back to her room. "Don't think so much of yourself, Shikamaru."

He grabbed her wrist as she was storming off. "Sakura?"

She twisted to glare at him, obviously waiting for some teasing remark. "What!?"

He smiled. She was so cute when flustered. Scary when she was truly riled, yes, but when she was all embarrassed like this it just reminded Shikamaru of how wonderful it was to _be_ the troublesome one for once, rather than the one being troubled.

"If you're not distracted, then I was just wondering why it is that you were heading toward my room rather than yours. I mean," he paused slightly as she seemed to blush even more furiously, realizing the direction she had been storming off in, "I'm flattered but it's been just a really long day so perhaps another..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence as she let out a frustrated growl and stomped off in the correct direction, mumbling things like "Arrogant males... need proper sleeping attire... I'll show _him_ distracted..."

She froze at her doorway. Shikamaru watched her as she slowly turned back toward him. "Shikamaru?"

He watched her warily. Her expression told him she was up to something, but he was unsure as to what. "Yeees?"

"Finish that sentence."

"Heh?" Now she had completely thrown him.

"What you were just saying. It's been a long day, so perhaps..." She trailed off questioningly.

_'Well, shit.'_

He scratched the back of his head and slowly backed toward his room.

"Perhaps another _what_, Shikamaru? Perhaps another time? Another day? Are you suggesting what I _think_ you're suggesting?"

Shikamaru was a man who knew when to make what move in every battle. He was also a man who knew exactly when it was time to retreat.

So he did.

He could hear her laughter from the other side of the screen separating his bedroom from the rest of the suite and listened as she slid her screen into place as well, clicking off the lights from the switch next to her door.

He sighed in relief.

But he couldn't help but think, as he was lying in bed trying to fall back asleep, that spending the night with Sakura wasn't such a bad idea. It didn't matter what they were doing. Staying up talking and joking, doing more...pleasurable things, or simply laying there and sleeping side by side. They all seemed like perfectly good ways to spend the evening.

It was nice to know that no matter what situation he imagined, they all appeared satisfactory, so long as Sakura was in them.

* * *

The next morning, to Sakura's immense relief, Shikamaru didn't mention her embarrassing little episode from last night.

Honestly, what had gotten into her? He was certainly appealing, but she couldn't explain why she just couldn't seem to control her eyes. She had more restraint than that, surely. She was just going to have to blame it on the late hour and lack of sleep.

She was ready to go to breakfast long before he was, and was sitting, gazing out the window at the hazy morning, when he finally emerged from the bathroom, clad in his jounin attire, just as she was. She remembered when they both became jounin. Though he had progressed to chuunin long before her, his lackadaisical attitude prevented him from shooting through the ranks. He had expressed no desire to enter into jounin exams and decided to wait for the rest of his team before finally moving onward. And by that time, Sakura was moving up too. They had all gone out to celebrate afterward. She smiled at the memory. They had all been through so much together and she was eternally grateful that she still had so many friends around. Many shinobi weren't so lucky.

He turned from straightening his vest to see her smiling and one corner of his mouth quirked up in response. "What?"

She smiled and shook her head, giggling when she spotted a tiny spot of shaving cream just below his left ear. She felt him tense when she moved toward him, reaching up to the side of his face.

She could have laughed out loud at his expression. He looked like a startled deer, his brown eyes wide. She swiped one finger over the white smudge and brought it forward for him to see. She did giggle then, at the relief evident in his face and laughed harder when his cheeks pinkened slightly. She wiped the dab of cream on his nose.

He scowled, looking embarrassed, and heaved a put-upon sigh before using his sleeve to clean his nose and jerking his head in the direction of the door. "Let's go, already."

She followed him out the door, shaking her head in amusement.

They made the rest of their trip to the extravagent dining area in silence, except for a few snickers when they passed two servants attempting to rehang a large curtain rod holding long heavy drapes.

Breakfast was mostly quiet. There were fewer people dining now than there had been the night before at the party. This morning was less of a party, and more of a time for ceremony. They found themselves seated at a long table. Shikamaru ate mostly in silence, seated next to a middle-aged man who was deep in conversation with the woman next to him, while Sakura answered question after question asked by the elderly gentleman next to her. He seemed very interested in the economics of a hidden village and Sakura was profusely thankful that she was around Tsunade's office enough to be able to carry on a decently intelligent conversation on the subject.

When the old man next to him paused in coversation to discuss something with his wife, Sakura glanced across the room and froze at the dark look that was being sent her way. Hitoshi, his ruffled feathers dry and back in place, was shooting disgruntled looks toward her and Shikamaru between bites of his breakfast. Sakura caught his eye and smiled cheekily at him, waving a cheerful hello.

His expression darkened further.

She nudged Shikamaru and nearly squealed when she saw a servant sporting black and blue features approach Hitoshi and lean in to whisper something in his ear. It was their friend from last night. Shikamaru followed her gaze once she had his attention and she felt his body go rigid. The look on his face made it apparent that he was trying to refrain from laughing outright, and his tense posture showed that he was holding his breath to do so.

When the servant stood, having delivered whatever message it was that he had for his master, he happened to catch sight of the two shinobi. Sakura watched as Shikamaru let a small smile crack his expression and he nodded his head to their new friend. The servant turned bright red and quickly beat a retreat to the door. When he tripped over a small ornamental rug just outside the doorway and fell headlong into the hallway and out of sight, both she and Shikamaru leaned forward and tried to smother their laughter behind their sleeves.

* * *

_'Now I remember why I hate diplomatic missions.'_

Shikamaru fought a yawn.

_'Because they always involve long and boring diplomatic ceremonies.'_

The new daimyo was a stout, jovial, middle-aged man. He appeared to be a likeable fellow, and gave his welcoming speech with enthusiasm.

He and Sakura sat politely at one of the many small tables that had been placed around the large area designed for meetings and events such as this. The hall was finely decorated, and the tables each laid out with white linen, seating six people each. They were both dressed in their jounin uniforms, hitai-ite in place - Sakura's tied in her pink tresses, and his own around his left arm. The others seated around the table seemed to all be representatives of various civilian villages from the Fire Nation. They hadn't had much time to introduce themselves before the speaking began.

And then the speaking went on. And on. And on. It was past noon now, and Shikamaru was for once grateful that his best friend Chouji was not on this mission with him. By this time, he would undoubtedly be complaining about the delay in lunch.

This was the fourth, and thankfully final, speech to be made. The new daimyo would then be sworn in and would proceed to make his rounds about the room, greeting visitors and establishing relationships.

The scroll that they were to deliver from Tsunade was tucked in his vest, so all he had to do was make sure he didn't fall asleep until this whole thing was over with.

When the speech finally ended, he applauded politely with everyone else, standing as the daimyo stepped down. They all remained standing while the ceremony continued, transferring leadership to him.

The room filled again with applause, this time more enthusiastic, when it was all finished. The new daimyo, Naoto Hamada, bowed to those assembled. Shikamaru and Sakura bowed along with the rest of his subjects in return.

They applauded once again, and servants began pouring in, carrying drinks and food for their next meal.

Shikamaru watched Sakura as she carried on polite conversation with the other occupants of their table. She was gesturing animatedly to two older gentlemen, and they replied just as enthusiastically back. From what he could pick up from their conversation, they both appeared to be doctors from two small villages that neighbored eachother. They were apparently working together to improve healthcare in their region, and Sakura conversed with them eagerly, asking and answering question after question.

He had a small content smile on his face, just seeing her so excited about something. Her eyes sparkled, and her delicate hands fluttered back and forth as they talked about different procedures and techniques. She was so animated. He wasn't sure that he ever showed that much enthusiasm about anything in his life.

He was so busy thinking about how nice it was to have her around, brightening up the very space she occupied, that he didn't notice that the seat next to him, which had been vacated by one of the other guests shortly after the speeches ended, was now filled. He didn't notice, that is, until the gentleman occupying it commented softly to him.

"You and your partner seemed to cause quite the stir last night with one of my neighbors."

Shikamaru started and looked over into the smiling eyes of the new daimyo of Fire Nation, Naoto Hamada. He swallowed nervously, before noting that the man didn't seem all that irate. He seemed rather amused, actually.

"I apologize. I seem to have caught you by surprise. Though, I was under the impression that shinobi were rather hard to sneak up on."

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and replied. "Well...we're supposed to be. I seem to be a bit off today."

Naoto chuckled easily. "I would be distracted as well, if I had such a lively, as well as lovely, partner."

Shikamaru blushed. "I'm not sure what you mean."

The man tilted his head, his dark eyes narrowed in thought. "Ah, so this is a budding romance, then?"

Shikamaru choked a little. "Romance?" He cringed as his voice squeaked slightly on the word.

"I have seen that look before. Your face looked very similar to mine whenever I gazed upon my late wife. It is the face of happiness and contentment, the kind that only a good woman can bring. You only see it on those who have found a good match - someone of equal intelligence, and mutual esteem."

Shikamaru was not only blushing furiously now, but also speechless. This was hardly how his meeting with the daimyo was supposed to go. He felt that perhaps he should stand and bow to the man, and nearly made to do so, when the gentleman patted his arm. "Relax, young shinobi. I was merely making an observation. Perhaps it was one you're not quite ready for. And as for last night and your role here, don't worry. I hold your entire village in great esteem. Without our ninja, we would be in a sorry state, indeed. I hope that any future relations with your hokage will be pleasant and profitable."

Shikamaru bowed his head briefly. "That is the hokage's wish as well. Lady Tsunade sends you her congratulations as well as this message." He swiftly pulled the scroll from his vest and handed it to the nobleman. "We also thank you for your invitation and hospitality."

He cleared his throat. "And...er... I personally apologize for any trouble I might have caused. I assure you that it is my fault alone, and I hope you won't let it interfere with any future relations with our village."

The daimyo laughed again and waved him off. "Don't worry about it young man. I'm sorry, I haven't asked your name."

"Shikamaru Nara, sir." He bowed his head again.

"Shikamaru, I have known Hitoshi for years, and I know how he can act. From what I understand he was making himself quite a bother to your lovely friend here. If the woman I was interested in were being accosted by someone as annoying as Hitoshi, I wouldn't have acted differently."

Shikamaru began to protest but was cut off as the daimyo waved his hand.

Naoto's eyes gleamed. "I'm old enough to recognize young love when I see it. You two make quite a handsome couple. Don't let her get away, my friend."

With that he stood and rubbed his hands together, the scroll Shikamaru had delivered handed to a servant to read through later. "Well, I must continue with introductions. There are a great many people to meet."

He looked at Sakura, who's back was still turned as she and the two doctors were completely engrossed in conversation. "Perhaps we could start with an introduction to your partner?"

Shikamaru stood as well and tapped Sakura on the shoulder. When she turned and noticed the daimyo standing behind her she immediately scrambled from her seat and bowed. Naoto took her hand and bowed over it as Shikamaru introduced her.

"Sakura Haruno? What a delightful name for a delightful young woman. It is a pleasure to meet you both."

"Th-thank you, sir. And a pleasure to meet you as well."

Shikamaru smiled and shook the older man's outstretched hand.

"And if Hitoshi causes you any more problems or approaches your dear friend here again, please feel free to make use of my many ponds."

Shikamaru chuckled and thanked him once again as he moved on to go speak with the two bowing doctors.

Sakura looked wide-eyed between Shikamaru and the daimyo, obviously trying to ascertain just what she had missed out on.

"Shikamaru," she leaned over, whispering furiously at him, "Just how long was he here before you decided to tell me?"

He shrugged. "Long enough to make a few interesting observations."

"Just what do you mean by that?"

He smiled and reached out, surprising both her and himself by tucking an errant strand of pink hair behind her ear. His smile grew as a blush spread quickly over her face.

"I'll tell you about it later. Right now," he turned slightly and held his arm out to her, his hands once again in his pockets, "I think I need a drink. Care to join me?"

She was still blushing and looking a little unfocused, but eventually nodded slowly. She finally smiled softly and slipped her hand onto the crook of his elbow, and followed him away.

Shikamaru had complete confidence in their new daimyo, and was hopeful for their future relationships.

And his observational skills were phenomenal.

Their mission was a success in his eyes. Now... for a personal mission of his own.

* * *

A/N: Ew, cheesey chapter ending, right!? Bleh. Aaaah well. Everyone could do with a little cheese.

I'll go back and check this again later. I'm sure there are mistakes. However, I've read through it three times now, and it never fails: I'll read it again in a week or two and more mistakes will magically jump out at me. Oh well.

I've gone back and edited all of the chapters I've written repeatedly, and I still find new mistakes. :P

Anyhow, hope you enjoy! One more chapter ought to do it for this little ficlet.


	6. Easier Than You Think

**6. Easier Than You Think**

* * *

The journey back had been uneventful. It was pleasantly quiet and Sakura thought about how she hadn't felt so comfortable in someone else's presence like this in ages. Her teamates were now like family to her but other than them, and perhaps Ino, she was not particularly close to anyone. Tsunade was as close as an authority figure could possibly be, but there would always be that indefineable something that would separate them due to her standing as her instructor and village leader. Even Ino was one to be careful around - Sakura could never let slip anything that might be used against her in a gossip mill. Ino was her dearest female companion, but even the closest of sisters were known to be a bit petty toward one another.

Shikamaru, however, was someone Sakura knew she could count on. He was above cruel pettyness, (_'Though obviously not above embarrassing me at least a little bit,'_ she reminded herself,) and unlike her teammates, whom she adored, he seemed more aware of her intelligence and ability to handle herself. While he was definitely still protective of those he cared about (_'Does that include me?'_) he picked his battles and was more capable of letting her handle herself, whereas someone like Naruto would leap in without first determining if she would rather handle the situation herself.

These thoughts all ran through her furiously working brain as the made their way home to Konoha and she had moved on to wondering whether or not something would ever come of these musings when they finally reached Tsunade's office. She shook her head to clear it as they both stepped in to report to the hokage.

Shikamaru did the talking, since he was officially in charge of the mission, and also because he was the one who had conversed the most with the new daimyo. He revealed that the daimyo had already been pleased with the way Tsunade handled the hidden village and looked forward to working with her. Tsunade asked for their overall impression of the man, and Shikamaru relayed his confidence in the fact that he seemed quite capable, humble, and extremely intelligent as well as observant. Sakura raised an eyebrow, still wondering what all had been said whilst she had been unaware of the daimyo's presence behind her.

"He seemed very pleased that we attended, and sent a reply back to you." Shikamaru handed the scroll over. A servant had caught up to them just before they departed, requesting they deliver the daimyo's message to the hokage upon their return.

Tsunade broke the seal on the scroll, and nodded as she read it. Upon reaching the bottom of the note, she snorted slightly in amusement and looked up between Shikamaru and Sakura.

Sakura shared a confused and slightly apprehensive glance with her partner, hoping that the daimyo had said nothing of the slight scuffle they had with his obnoxious neighbor. But Tsunade rolled the scroll up without further comment and she felt her shoulders relax slightly.

"Thank you both. You are dismissed. I will need no formal written report, as I believe this note you've returned will suffice." Tsunade grinned a little and again the two jounin shared apprehensive glances before nodding and exiting her office.

As Shikamaru pulled the knob shut behind them, they both paused as they distinctly heard Tsunade cackle behind the closed office door. He grimaced. "That's... a little worrisome."

Sakura shook her head. "So long as we didn't get reprimanded, I'm going to try not to care."

He shrugged and they headed for the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom Sakura suddenly realized that she didn't want to part ways at all. She wrung her hands, but could think of no ideas that wouldn't make her feel foolish, embarrassed, or extremely obvious.

So, feeling a little hopeless, she turned and gave him a quick smile and a little wave before hurrying off, leaving him standing there with his hands in his pockets and staring after her with a calculating expression on his face.

She felt a bit sick to her stomach as she hurried away, thinking of her only option at this point. She reached her front door and as she put the key in the lock, resigned herself to the fact that she'd have to turn to the one person who could either help her with her situation, or make her life completely miserable: Ino.

She let her forehead fall dejectedly to the door. "Damn."

* * *

"Damn." Shikamaru couldn't believe he was here. This was insane. It was utterly stupid. _'Genius, my ass.'_

He had, of course, gone to Chouji first. Chouji was his best friend. He would never laugh. And he didn't. He also didn't have any ideas as to how to get together with Sakura without looking utterly idiotic and desperate at the same time. He did, however, suggest someone who could help. Unfortunately, the risks of asking this person for help were unusually high. Ino would go crazy with the information that her teammate was interested in her best friend. She was loyal to the end, though. Maybe if he was serious enough with her and genuine in his request for help, she'd keep her teasing to a minimum and give him a hand.

He couldn't think of any other options. It had been over two weeks since their mission, and Shikamaru hadn't crossed paths with Sakura once. He wasn't surprised. He rarely ran into her before; why would that change now?

He couldn't imagine himself just waltzing up to her door and asking her to dinner. Shikamaru liked to minimize risk. Putting himself out like that placed his male ego front and center with a giant target on it.

For all he knew, Sakura was just very friendly with men. She didn't strike him as an out-and-out flirt like Ino, but she did seem to mostly hang around with males and could therefore just be extremely comfortable around men and easy-going enough to flirt casually.

He had been debating the merits of dating Sakura since their return to the village. There were many risks involved, and even more if it all came to nothing in the end. But then he remembered how it had felt to be around her, and imagined how much better it would be if they were actually involved. If her casual, friendly touches were enough to send him reeling, he couldn't begin to think about how amazing her more intimate ones could be. In the end he couldn't deny that she was in his head more often than not, and found himself unable to concentrate on any one thing for very long.

What was she doing? Was she laughing with someone like she had with him? Did she miss their conversations? Was she thinking of him at all?

He wanted to kick himself. He felt like some teenage girl. This was not the way his mind normally worked, and he was highly irritated with both his mind, and his extremely traitorous body.

Hell, he didn't even know if she was single. He certainly wasn't stupid enough to ask her teammates. Raising their suspicion would only bring him physical harm. He had a feeling she was. Sakura didn't seem the type to flirt with anyone else at all if she was already unavailable. And she seemed too insecure to be already in a relationship as well.

That was another reason he didn't want this endeavor to go over badly - her teammates. Facing down Naruto, Sai, or Kakashi individually would have been extremely hazardous to his health. And facing them in any sort of combination was a death wish.

He had to admit - intelligent though he was - he was relatively inexperienced with women.

He rolled his eyes as he shifted his stance, staring at the door in front of him. Alright, he was extremely inexperienced with women. They sometimes baffled him. His mother and Ino were prime examples. He just did not fully understand how their minds worked. He picked up on their tendancies, yes, but was forever in the dark as to why they behaved the way they did.

He had to face the facts. If he wanted to see Sakura again, he was going to have to find an decent excuse to do so. One that was not too obvious. One that would open up more opportunities to see one another. And for that he needed some help.

He sighed irritably and faced the inevitable. He knocked on the door.

* * *

Ino had finally gotten over her hilarity of the situation enough to settle down and reassure Sakura that if she wanted that lazy-ass teammate of hers, she was willing to help.

"Maybe if he gets laid, he'll lighten up." Sakura glared at her. "Hell, maybe if _you_ get laid, you'll lighten up." Sakura threw the pillow she had been leaning against at Ino's blonde head.

"See what I mean? You need to chill out."

Sakura sighed and flopped to her side across Ino's bed. "It's not about sex, Ino. I feel like there is actually a lot of potential here. He's like this perfect balance of everything I look for in a guy. He's smart, but not condescending. Skilled, but he's humble. A little brooding and quiet, but not in a depressing sort of way. He talks when it's important and when he does talk, people tend to want to hear what he has to say.

She looked down at her fingers plucking at Ino's coverlet. "I just want to give it a chance. And while I know he wouldn't laugh at me if I approached him, I also don't think I can take a rejection either. I need another shot to see if he actually likes me, or if he only seemed attracted to me because I was stuck with him for a whole weekend."

Ino narrowed her eyes at the brooding woman before her. "Shika's not that kind of guy, Sakura. If you irritated him or if he wasn't interested, he wouldn't bother with you. And from what you've told me, he seemed more than interested. He wasn't just being a gentleman and putting up with you. It sounds like he really enjoyed being with you."

Sakura looked up. "You think?"

Ino nodded. "I do. Trust me, I've known him since we could first walk. Our family's have been the closest of friends for years. He's a nice guy, but he doesn't go out of his way for anyone unless they mean something to him."

She grinned. "And he definitely wouldn't have followed you into that garden and shoved some dignitary into a pond just to be polite. He was jeeeeaaalous!" She giggled at the thought. "Oh man, I wish I could have seen it. I'm still having a hard time imagining Shikamaru being jealous of anything. He's just so lazy!"

Sakura smiled as well. They had just finished making plans to meet up for dinner later to discuss creating opportunities for Sakura to better get to know Shikamaru when there was a knock on Ino's door.

She raised a brow at her friend. "Aren't you the popular one today? I'll leave you to your next visitor and see you tonight!"

Sakura pulled open the door to leave and allow Ino to deal with whoever her visitor was. The guest in question, however, caused the smile to freeze on her face.

Shikamaru looked just as surprised to see Sakura leaving as Sakura and Ino did to see him standing on the porch, hand poised to knock again.

He let his hand drop to his side and cleared his throat before nodding at a still-unmoving Sakura.

Luckily for her, Ino was compassionate enough to step in. "Hey Shikamaru! You came just in time! We were just heading around to see about another get-together at the bar tonight. Having the whole group together last time was so much fun, we thought we should make it a more regular thing."

Sakura nodded and relaxed. Thank goodness for Ino. The bar was perfect. Lots of people, no pressure, and a relaxed atmosphere. Her blonde friend was smarter than she gave her credit for. That, or more devious.

For some reason, Shikamaru looked almost relieved about something. Ino noticed it too and sent him a suspicious look before catching Sakura's eye and clearing her expression. By the time she looked back at Shikamaru, his face was also relaxed and slightly bored-looking, set in his usual expression.

She shrugged it off and nodded. "I'm sure Naruto and Hinata will come, and Kiba's always game. Lee never likes to miss out on anything, and TenTen should be back from her mission by now. The others might need some persuading, but we'll work on them. Will you and Chouji be free?" She added the last part with as much nonchalance as possible.

Shikamara shrugged. "I don't see why not. I was just coming over to ask Ino if she wanted to join Chouji and I for dinner, but I'll go see if he wants to do that another night." He backed off the porch with a single wave of his hand and turned to head toward Choji's house.

Ino turned to Sakura and grinned. "I guess we need to start spreading the word, huh? You go tell Naruto and he can use his big mouth and energy to do the work for us, and then I'll meet you at your place with some take-out so we can work on getting you all decked out for tonight."

Sakura couldn't help but smile back. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

* * *

That had been too easy. He thought Ino had caught on some to his intentions, but luckily she could only suspect. He hadn't needed to reveal anything to her and he couldn't believe his luck.

Chouji had been surprised when he showed up at his house only ten minutes after leaving it, but pleased that everything had worked out so easily for his friend. Shikamaru agreed to dinner with him simply to keep his mind off of tonight.

It was his chance to see if anything further would come of their interactions. They would be surrounded by people, so he knew that if she still seemed interested in him even with everyone else around, he stood a chance. Last time they had been out together aside from their mission, she had been drunk. So he couldn't rely on anything that had occurred that night. And during their mission, it had just been the two of them and a bunch of strangers. In a situation like that, two people would naturally be more drawn together. But if she just laid off the alcohol tonight and still interacted with him as she had on their mission...

He knew he was over-analyzing but he couldn't help it. That was his nature.

Chouji was sitting next to him at their table in the back. Kiba, Naruto, Hinata, and Sai were already there also. As far as he knew, most of their little group of friends and teammates would be there tonight, which could work for or against him. He needed an opportunity to interact with her, because he certainly wasn't going through the trouble of creating another scenario like this all over again. The evening and opportunity had fallen into his lap this time, and he wasn't going to waste it.

He shook his head and, to distract himself, turned to the conversation occurring between Kiba and Naruto that was quickly escalating into an amusing, if pointless, argument with Hinata quietly and calmly interjecting from time to time. Hinata caught his eye and smiled as she rolled her eyes and shook her head at their antics. Kiba flicked a bottle cap at Naruto and Shikamaru chuckled as it bounced off his forehead and into his drink in front of him.

Just as Naruto opened his mouth in outrage, someone slid into the seat next to Shikamaru and chuckled. "Nice shot, Kiba." Sakura smiled and reached over him to snag a chip from the bowl on the table in front of Chouji, her arm casually brushing his chest and her leg touching his before she leaned back in her seat again. He was pleased to note that her bare knee still just grazed his as she sat back down.

Ino sat between Chouji and Sai and laughed. "Yeah, and you weren't even aiming at a huge target. If it had been Sakura's forehead, I wouldn't have been as impressed."

Rather than scowl at her friend like Shikamaru expected her to, Sakura smiled over at Ino. "Same goes for Ino's giant mouth." Ino grinned and threw one of Chouji's chips at her which missed and landed on Shikamaru's head. Chouji grimaced and pulled the bowl closer to himself to avoid the loss of any more of his chips.

Shikamaru let out an annoyed sigh and was reaching to remove the offending piece of food from his hair when Sakura plucked it away first and popped it into her mouth. She shrugged and smiled at Chouji. "Don't worry, I would never let it go to waste."

She sent him a grin as well and he was delighted to see her blush when he lifted a corner of his lips in reply. She cleared her throat and turned to reply to a question from Hinata, her cheeks still pink, but her smile still in place.

He leaned back in his chair contentedly. This was going to be easier than he thought.

* * *

She and Ino had talked the upcoming evening to death while doing each other's hair. But Ino's insistence that Sakura needn't worry and plan half as much as she was had been spot on.

"He already likes you, Sakura. Just act like you did while you were together this weekend. Relax," she had reassured calmly, over and over, pulling Sakura's tresses into an artfully sloppy bun, allowing a few pieces to frame her face.

But relaxing had seemed so much more difficult with a potential relationship on the line. Before it was simply fun to hang out with someone she had been surprised to find she got along with so well. It was a flutter of excitement every time she discovered something new about this man that she hadn't picked up on before. But now... now potential embarrassment, heartbreak, or thrilling happiness were waiting in the offing.

Now that she was here, though, hanging out with her friends, sitting beside Shikamaru and realizing what a calming influence he was, she felt her worries slip away. He was still the lazy, laid-back guy she'd known before, but now she knew how kind and supportive he was too. And while she thought his intelligence was reserved namely to coming up with brilliant strategies, she found that it was much more than that. Conversation with him was just so... simple. And he didn't lean back in his chair and snooze away like she would have expected before.

Ino was right; he was acting differently than she would have thought. He was acting... interested. He didn't do anything obvious, like buy her a drink or outright flirt with her. But little things that sent butterflies racing. He never seemed to mind brushing against her. In fact, when Ino playfully shoved Chouji into them (and Sakura was pretty sure she did it purposely,) he remained, their sides touching from knee to hip.

She could feel his every breath. The scent of his aftershave was prominent in her nose over the smells of booze and other bar-revelers. It was intoxicating.

_'I keep trying to avoid alcohol all evening, and what do I do? I get all drunk and stupid off of _him_.'_

She tried to keep her smile from looking as drunkenly euphoric as she felt.

* * *

If he thought she was capable of burning holes in him with a touch of her fingers before, it was nothing to how on fire his body felt pressed so closely to hers.

He could almost see why other people seemed to love this flirting nonsense so much. The entire process was a major boost to the ego when it went well, and things definitely seemed to be going well. He hadn't done anything ridiculous like he had seen in all the other idiots scattered about the bar, drunkenly hitting on each other. But being near her, using the excuse of the excessive noise in the room to lean in to her when they were talking, casually readjusting the strap of the dress she wore on her shoulder all seemed to be doing the trick if her blush and nervously heated glances were anything to go by.

Hitting on girls was for guys who just wanted to get laid. And while he was sure that such an event with Sakura would be unfathomably good, he wanted more than that. He wasn't the kind of idiot to get himself entangled in relationship after relationship just because he had to follow his libido around.

He was the special kind of idiot who would rather just get it right the first time and settle down with them.

Not that he was thinking about marriage. He wasn't _that_ big an idiot.

He took another drink. _'Not yet, anyway.'_

No, he felt that something with Sakura could be the perfect situation for him. They were compatible, smart, and while he was sure she would cause trouble from time to time, (all women did after all,) he somehow felt that it would be well worth it. It was a nice feeling – knowing that while it wouldn't be perfect, it would be worth the effort.

This was an extraordinary revelation for him, and he knew it. He was honest enough to admit that he was lazy. He preferred to think of it as intelligently removing unnecessary complications, but those were semantics.

And for someone as lazy as he was, to acknowledge that no matter what potential trouble a woman put him through it would be worth it in the end was monumental.

He watched her wave a farewell to TenTen, who was heading home to get some much-needed rest after her mission and grinned to himself.

She turned his direction and caught the smile with a self-conscious look on her face. "What?"

He shrugged, still smiling a little. "I was just thinking about your last exit from the bar."

She blushed darkly and covered her eyes with her hand. "Don't remind me."

He laughed. "I noticed you haven't had nearly so much to drink tonight."

She smiled then, her face still pink. "I figure I'm good enough at embarrassing myself without any help from booze."

"Excellent, I really wasn't looking forward to a repeat performance."

She bit her lip. "That bad, was it?"

He shrugged. "It could have been worse. I mean, you managed to puke over the railing, and not on me, so that's a plus." She groaned. "Aaaaand, while I had to carry you out of the bar, you at least were courteous enough to compliment my fantastic physique."

She wracked her brains for a moment before laughing outright. "Ahhhh. Right. Your ass. Well, don't get too amped up about it. I was drunk, after all. You could have had the red butt of a baboon and I might have said the same thing."

He spluttered on the sip he had just taken and she grinned deviously, twisting the tiny straw around in the drink she had been nursing all evening.

He glared at her slightly, still trying to clear his throat and she relented some. "I suppose if you'd like me to take another look, I could give you a proper opinion?"

"That eager to get your hands back on my ass?"

She blushed, but pushed on gamely. "Only if it means you'll walk me home again."

He raised an eyebrow. "No puking?"

She raised her hand in a mock solemn vow. "I promise. Unless you really do have the behind of a baboon, because then there might be a little gagging at least."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't think we have to worry about that."

She blushed and grinned. "I don't think so either."

They both conveniently ignored the fact that, when they left together, Sakura's hand tucked into the crook of his arm, it took the combined efforts of Hinata, Ino, and Kiba to keep Naruto restrained in his seat.

* * *

Over a year had pass since the new daimyo had taken charge of the land of Fire, and Tsunade found that working with him was better than she had hoped. He had been nothing but supportive of the people who worked so hard to keep their country safe.

She wrote him monthly reports on the village's missions and progress as a courtesy rather than an obligation. He had started their correspondence shortly after his installment, writing to send Tsunade praise over her management of Konoha, as well as his good impressions of their shinobi.

She grinned to herself, gazing out her window that overlooked the village. It had actually started shortly before that, with the quick note she had received from the hands of Shikamaru.

It had been a brief letter of introduction as well as a thank-you for sending such wonderful representatives. What followed was a brief but hilarious account of the interactions of aforementioned shinobi and one of the daimyo's annoying neighbors. It involved a pond, some very traumatized koi, a highly embarrassed servant, some heavy drapes, and one irate neighbor.

He had assured her that the entire incident was not the fault of her shinobi, but Tsunade somehow doubted this.

The following request from the daimyo at the bottom of the letter was what really caught her interest, and she fulfilled it dutifully.

_I would consider it a great personal favor if you would update me briefly on these two young individuals. They remind me a great deal of my late wife and I at their age. It is my fondest hope that they find happiness together, just as we did. Young people have such a tendency to overlook or complicate things. I hope this is not the case for these two._

She smiled again, watching a young woman with pink hair race from the hospital doors to meet the slouching gentleman across the street waiting for her in the shadows. When they walked away together, she turned back to her desk and the letter she was finishing.

_I hope that you find this month's update adequate. Please inform me at once if you have any questions regarding these matters. _

_On a different note you will be pleased to know that all is well in regards to your favorite two shinobi. That lazy slacker finally got off his ass and bought her a ring. And, you will appreciate this, he proposed to her on a bridge over one of the koi ponds on his family's land. No one was thrown in, and the koi remain un-traumatized._

_I imagine you will be receiving an invitation to the wedding soon - she said yes. _

**_The End_**

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* * *

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**I will never be stupid enough to write anything but one-shots ever again. Argh. **

**I hope you enjoyed this at least minimally! **


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